V N CHIVED 



OCT 13 1897 

*o> of 



M*V> n r f 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



Chap*.. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



ILLUSTRATED EXPLANATION 
OF THE COMMANDMENTS. 



ILLUSTRATED EXPLANATION OF 
THE COMMANDMENTS. t , 



A COMPLETE AND THOROUGH EXPOSITION OF 

THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND 

OF THE CHURCH. 



WITH NUMEROUS EXAMPLES FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE, 
THE FA THERS, AND OTHER SOURCES. 



ADAPTED FROM THE ORIGINAL OF 

Rev. H. ROLFUS, D.D. 



.WITH A REFLECTION AND A PRACTICE ON EACH 
COMMANDMENT 

By Very Rev. FERREOL GIRARDEY, C.SS.R., ' ' 

Provincial of the St. Louis Province; author of "Popular 
Instructions on Marriage" etc-, etc. 



* 



: 



rl* 



1 



NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO: 

BENZIGER BROTHERS, 

Printers to the Holy Apostolic See. 
1897 

c 






^ 




1Mbtl ©bstat. 

Thos. L. Kinkead, 

Censor Librorum. 

•ffmprtmatur. 

►J* Michael Augustine, 

Archbishop of New York. 

New York, June 18th, 1897. 



Copyright, 1897, by Benziger Brothers. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

page- 
Keeping the Commandments, n 

Application, . , . . . • . . .16 

Example, 17 

The Law of Nature, 18 

The Commandments of Charity, . . . .19 

Charity, . 20 

Application, ........ 24 

Examples, ........ 24 

Sins Against the Love gf God, . . . .26 

Zeal for the Honor of God, 28 

Charity towards Our Neighbor, . . . -29 
Examples, ........ 33 

Love of Our Enemies, 35 

Application, 37 

Examples, ........ 38 

Works of Mercy, 39 

Corporal Works of Mercy, . . . . .40 

Application, ........ 43 

Examples, ........ 44 

Spiritual Works of Mercy, 45 

Examples, ........ 46 



Contents. 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, . 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

The Worship of God, 
Interior Worship 
The Nature of Faith, 

Example, 
The Necessity and Object of Fai 

Example, 
Qualities or Properties of Faith 

Example, 
Sources of Faith, 
Holy Scripture, 
Tradition, . 
The Apostles' Creed, 
Sins Against Faith, . 
Idolatry, . 
Unbelief, . 
Heresy, 

Indifference in Matters of Faith 
Loss of Faith, . 

Examples, 
Superstition, 
Fortune-Telling and Interpretation of Dreams, 
Vain Observance, 
Superstitious Prayers, 
Warning Examples, 
Sacrilege, . 

Warning Examples, 
Exterior Worship, . 
Application, . 
Examples, 



58 
60 
61 
62 

64 

66 

67 
68 
7i 
7i 

73 
74 

78 
78 
79 
80 
80 
81 
82 
83 
85 
86 
87 
88 

9i 
92 

94 
97 
97 



Contents. 5 

PAGE 

Hope, . . 98 

Application, ... .... 101 

Examples, ........ 102 

Sins Against Hope, . . . . . . . 103 

Application, ........ 105 

Examples, . . . . . . . . 106 

The Veneration of the Saints, .... 107 

The Church Teaches Us the Way of Honoring 

the Saints, ........ 113 

Canonization, . .115 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

Pronouncing the Name of God, . . . .119 

Blasphemy, ........ 121 

Punishment of Blasphemy, . . . . .122 

Oaths, . . . 123 

Examples, ........ 127 

Cursing, . .128 

Application 129 

Warning Examples, ...... 130 

Vows, 131 

Application, ........ 136 

Examples, .... . . 136 

THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

The Sanctification of Sunday, .... 137 

Punishments, Threats, and Promises, . . . 144 
Application, ........ 146 

Examples, ........ 147 

Sanctification of the Sunday Among the Early Chris- 
tians 148 



Contents. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

PAGE 

Duties Enjoined by the Fourth Commandment, . 149 
Duties of Children 150 

Examples, . . . . . . . .154 

Duties of Parents 156 

Examples, . . . . . . . .159 

Duties of Sisters and Brothers and <>k Relatives, 160 

Examples, . . . . . . .161 

Duties of Employers and Apprentices and of 

Teachers and Pupils, 162 

Duties of Servants and of Employers, . . 163 

Examples, . . . . . . . .166 

Duties towards the Aged and Duties of the 
Aged Themselves, 168 

Examples, . . . . . . .169 

Duties towards the Authorities and Duties of 
the Authorities Themselves, . . . .170 

Examples, . . . . . . . .173 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

Sins Against the Physical Life of Our Neighbor, 176 

Examples, . . . . . . . .185 

Sins Against One's Own Life, . . . . 1S5 

Examples, .189 

Sins Against the Life of the Soul, . . . 190 

Examples, ........ 195 

Duties Enjoined by the Fifth Commandment, . 196 

Application, ........ 197 

Cruelty towards Animals, ..... 197 

Examples, . . . . . . . . 199 



Contents. 



THE SIXTH AND NINTH COMMANDMENTS. 

PAGE 

Sins Against the Sixth and Ninth Command- 
ments, ......... 201 

Duties Enjoined by the Sixth Commandment, . 205 

On Chastity According to Our State, . . . 205 

Application, ........ 209 

Examples, . . . . . . . .210 

THE SEVENTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS, 

Sins Against Justice, 212 

Restitution, 217 

Reparation, 221 

Duties Enjoined by the Seventh and Tenth Com- 
mandments, 222 

Application, ........ 223 

Examples, ........ 223 

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

Sins Against the Eighth Commandment, . . 226 
' Examples, ........ 232 

Injuring Our Neighbor in His Honor, . . . 233 

Application, . . . . . . . . 237 

Examples, ........ 238 

Duties Enjoined by the Eighth Commandment, . 239 
Application, ....... 241 

THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE CHURCH. 

The Duty of Keeping the Commandments of the 
Church, 242 



Contents. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF THE CHURCH. 

PAGE 

The Observance of Holydays, . . . .246 

Consideration, . . . . . . .251 

Examples 252 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT OF THE CHURCH. 

Fasting and Abstinence, 254 

Application, ........ 263 

Examples, 265 

THE THIRD AND FOURTH COMMANDMENTS OF 
THE CHURCH. 

On Yearly Confession and Easter Communion, . 269 
Examples, ........ 270 

Frequent Communion, 271 

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT OF THE CHURCH. 
The Support of Our Pastors 272 

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT OF THE CHURCH. 

The Fourth Degree of Kindred, . . . 273 

Marrying Privately 274 

Forbidden Times, 274 

TRANSGRESSION OF THE COMMANDMENTS. 

Sin in General, 277 

Application, ........ 283 

Examples, ........ 284 



Contents. 



The Different Kinds of Sin, . 
The Capital Sins, . 
The Sins Against the Holy Ghost, 
The Sins Crying to Heaven for Vengeance, 

The Sins of Others 

Application, ...... 



PAGE 

. 285 
. 286 
. 291 

• 295 

• 297 
. 301 



Character 
Virtue, . 
The Theological Virtues 
The Moral Virtues, 
The Cardinal Virtues, 
The Principal Virtues, 



CHRISTIAN VIRTUE. 
Virtue — Different Kinds 



302 

303 
305 
305 
309 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

The Duty of Striving After Perfection, 

The Evangelical Counsels, 

Voluntary Poverty, . 

Perpetual Chastity, . 

Voluntary Obedience, 

The Religious Orders in the Church, 
Perfection in the World, 

The Eight Beatitudes, 

The Way of Attaining Perfection, 
Application, .... 



313 
314 

315 
316 
3i8 
319 
321 
322 
328 
329 



The Commandments Explained. 



Untrofcuctiom 

Keeping the Commandments* 

Eternal salvation does not depend on faith 
alone, but also in keeping the commandments. 
Faith teaches us what God is, what He has done 
for us, and what He has destined us for. But we 
must also know the will of God, and this will is 
expressed in His commandments. It is just as 
necessary for us to keep these commandments as it 
is to believe in God. " Not every one that saith to 
Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father who 
is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of 
heaven" (St. Matt. vii. 21). 

1. From the words of Our Saviour in which He 
points out the observance of God's commandments 
as the way leading to eternal life, it is evident that 
we can keep the commandments, for Our Lord does 
not exact anything impossible. When the rich 
young man in the Gospel asked one day, " Good 



1 2 Introduction. 

Master, what good shall I do that I may have life 
everlasting?" Our Lord gave him the explicit an- 
swer: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the com- 
mandments" (St. Matt. xix. 17). 

2. It is true that we can only keep the command- 
melts when sustained by the grace of God, but with 
the help of His grace it is not only possible, but 
easy for us to keep them. Our Lord Himself as- 
sures us: " My yoke is sweet and My burden light" 
(St. Matt. xi. 30). And St. John the Apostle testi- 
fies: "His commandments are not heavy" (1 St. 
John v. 3). 

3. Faith in God and charity are interior, and it 
is in the heart that they are implanted and nur- 
tured. But it requires a test to prove whether they 
be genuine and true, or only a sham faith and a 
sham love without value. Now this test by which 
we know genuine faith and genuine love is the 
keeping of the commandments. For this purpose 
God has given commandments, that not He, but 
rather man himself may know whether he be of 
God, and whether faith and love dwell in him. 

"And by this we know that we have known 
Him, if we keep His commandments. He who 
saith that he knoweth Him, and keepeth not His 
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in 
him. But he that keepeth His word, in him in very 
deed the charity of God is perfected, and by this 
we know that we are in Him" (1 St. John ii. 3-5). 



Keeping the Commandments. 13 

4. It does not suffice, however, for gaining eter- 
nal life to keep one or other, or even the greater 
number of the commandments, just as it may 
please us or not. The Christian must keep all the 
commandments. The Apostle St. James gives us 
the reason of this when he says : 

" Now whosoever shall keep the whole law, but 
offend in one point, is become guilty of all. For 
He that said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, said 
also, Thou shalt not kill" (St. James ii. 10, 11). 

Whoever transgresses a single commandment 
rebels against God. He says : I will keep all the 
commandments, but this one I do not choose to 
keep. It is this rebellion against God which con- 
stitutes sin. 

5. All those texts of Holy Scripture which are 
supposed to prove that it is impossible to keep the 
commandments are only in apparent contradiction 
with the words of Christ. When, for instance, the 
Apostle says : " To will, is present with me, but to 
accomplish that which is good, I find not" (Rom. 
vii. 18), he means, "Unless I am aided by grace," 
for he himself says: "I can do all things in Him 
who strengtheneth me" (Phil. iv. 13). 

6. Let us imagine what contradictions would 
necessarily result if man could not keep the com- 
mandments: God commands man to do or avoid 
something under penalty of forfeiting eternal salva- 
tion, but man cannot do good, not even with the 



i^ Introduction. 

help of God's grace. Man, therefore, is obliged to 
do evil ; he has no free will ; therefore he ought not 
to be punished, and yet God threatens him with 
punishment. On the other hand, there could be no 
reward in this case, because man cannot observe 
that to which God has attached eternal salvation 
as a reward. If God has given a law which man 
cannot keep, God Himself would be the Author of 
sin. We know that this blasphemous doctrine has 
been propagated by Calvin and other heretical 
teachers, but the holy Oecumenical Council of Trent 
has vindicated sound reason and the honor of God 
in declaring: " If any one say that it is impossible 
for a man who is justified and in the state of 
grace to keep the commandments, let him be ana- 
thema." 

7. But if we are obliged to keep the command- 
ments which the Jews were bound to observe, 
wherein does Evangelical freedom consist? 

It consists in two things: Christ Our Lord has 
freed us from the Jewish Law, which prescribed cir- 
cumcision, sacrifices, a certain order of festivals, 
etc. This ceremonial law was only meant for the 
Jews, and was only to last until the coming of 
Christ. This was declared by the apostles in the 
first general assembly at Jerusalem. For when the 
Christians of Antioch had sent to ask if they must 
first be circumcised in order to become Christians, 
the apostles answered : " It hath seemed good to 



" Ube Xorb tbg ©oo sbalt tbou aoore, ano Ibfm onlv, sbalt tbou 
serve."— St. /Ibatt. iv. 10. 




COPYRIGHT 1897, Br BENZIGER BROTHERS. 

" Ubis people barb slnneo a betnous sin, ano tbev. bave maoe to 
themselves gobs of golo.— jEioo. ixitf. 31. 

FIRST COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 



THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 

"I am the Lord thy God ; thou shalt not have strange 
gods before me." 

Reflection. — God has made us; from Him we 
have received all that we have and all that we are. 
Our chief and most important duty is to serve Him, 
to do His will, to give Him the honor that is due to 
Him. If we neglect this duty, all else we do in this 
world will be naught but vanity and will profit us 
nothing. Our hearts should constantly overflow with 
love and gratitude towards God, our greatest benefac- 
tor, the best of fathers, who does not cease to bestow 
on us with a lavish hand numberless benefits at every 
moment of our life. 

Practice. — Offer every morning to God the homage 
of your adoration and gratitude, beseeching Him to 
preserve you during the day from all danger of soul 
and body, and to bestow abundant blessings on you and 

Yours. 

Prayer. — O my God, I adore Thee as my Creator 
and sovereign Lord. I thank Thee for all Thy bene- 
fits; I am resolved to keep Thy commandments, and 
to serve Thee faithfully all my life. Mary, help 
me to do so. Amen. 



Keeping the Commandments. 15 

the Holy Ghost and to us to lay no farther burden 
upon you than these necessary things: That you 
abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from 
blood, and from things strangled, and from fornica- 
tion" (Acts xv. 28, 29.) 

We see, therefore, that the apostles did not exact 
the observance of the ceremonial or ritual law. 

Under Evangelical or Christian liberty we under- 
stand chiefly being freed from sin, which has been 
effected for us by Christ. This is the freedom 
of the children of God. This freedom does not 
exempt us from the service of God ; on the contrary, 
now we can serve God all the better, because we 
are no longer in the service of Satan. Therefore 
St. Paul says : " But now being made free from sin, 
[you have] become servants of God" (Rom. vi. 
22). 

It is only now that our works have any value, 
because they are done in Christ. Therefore St. 
James the Apostle teaches : 

" He that hath looked into the perfect law of 
liberty, and hath continued therein, not becoming 
a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man 
shall be blessed in his deed" (St. James 1. 25). 

Now as there are people in our day, and as there 
have been such especially at the time of the Ref- 
ormation, who under cover of freedom committed 
great excesses, so there were fanatics in the time 
of the apostles who under the name of Christian 



1 6 Introduction. 

freedom introduced all kinds of grievous moral 
disorders. The Apostle Peter opposes them in ex- 
horting the faithful in these words : " For so it is 
the will of God, that by doing well you may put to 
silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and 
not as making in liberty a cloak for malice, but as 
the servants of God" (i St. Peter ii. 15, 16). 

Application. 

1. Every one who knows the commandments of 
God is obliged to keep them, for God expressly en- 
joins this. It is not a matter of choice, but of duty, 
and therefore the Christian must simply repel all 
temptations with the thought: Such is the will of 
God. This is the way in which Our Saviour de- 
feated the tempter in the desert by opposing to his 
words the word of God. It is written, "And the 
devil was obliged to give way before the word of 
God." The Christian must say with the Psalmist: 
11 O Lord, my portion, I have said, I would keep 
Thy law" (Ps. cxviii. 57). 

2. As we can only keep the commandments with 
the help of divine grace, we must not on any account 
trust in ourselves. Even a wise and highly favored 
man like Solomon fell from the grace of God. In 
prayer alone lies all our safety. How beautiful 
are St. Augustine's words : " God does not com- 
mand anything impossible. If God gives you a 
command, He exhorts you to do what you are able, 



Keeping the Commandments. 17 

and to ask for what you are not able, whereupon 
He helps you that you may become able." 

Example. 

In Henoch, the father of Mathusala, we find a 
man who perfectly kept the commandments of God, 
although Holy Scripture does not expressly say so. 
Of him we read in Holy Writ: "And he walked 
with God, and was seen no more : because God took 
him" (Gen. v. 24). Of Noe it is said: " He was a 
just and perfect man in his generations, he walked 
with God" (Gen. vi. 9). To Abraham God said: 
" Walk before Me and be perfect" (Gen. xvii. 1). He 
certainly kept the commandments who for the love 
of God was ready to sacrifice his own son Isaac 
(Gen. xxii.). Of Josue also we are told: "He left 
not one thing undone of all the commandments 
which the Lord had commanded Moses" (Josue 
xi. 15). Ezechias prayed : " O Lord, remember how 
I have walked before Thee in truth, and with a per- 
fect heart, and have done that which is pleasing 
before Thee" (4 Kings xx. 3). And of the elder 
Tobias we read : " He had always feared God 
from his infancy, and kept His commandments" 
(Tob. ii. 13). Zachary and Elizabeth "were both 
just before God, walking in all the commandments 
and justifications of the Lord without blame" 
(St. Luke i. 6). When Jesus said to the rich young 
man, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the com- 



1 8 Introduction. 

mandments," he could answer: "All these have I 
kept from my youth" (St. Matt. xix. 20). The lives 
of all the saints of God furnish us with proofs that 
it is possible to keep the commandments of God. 
On the other hand, the fall of the angels shows that 
even the most holy may fall from the grace of God 
if they trust in their own strength and do not sub- 
mit to God. 

The Law of Nature. 

When God created man, He endowed him with 
various gifts. Above all He gave him a natural 
light, by which he can know what is reasonable, 
what is right, and what he ought to do, and, on the 
other hand, what is wrong, and what he ought, there- 
fore, to avoid. This natural law was observed by 
the holy patriarchs, for whom it was the way of sal- 
vation. From the time of Adam to that of Moses, 
i.e., for a period of 2,500 years, no other law was 
known. It is of this law that the Apostle speaks 
when he writes : " For when the gentiles who have 
not the law do by nature those things that are of 
the law, these having not the law, are a law to 
themselves : Who show the work of the law written 
in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness 
to them, and their thoughts between themselves 
accusing, or also defending one another" (Rom. 
ii. 14, 15). 

But, because the divine light was dimmed in the 



The Co7m?iandments of Charity. 19 

soul of man by evil habits and constant transgres- 
sions, God wished to restore it to its former bright- 
ness by giving the commandments to Moses. These 
commandments are therefore no new law, but 
rather the explanation of the law which is written 
in the human heart. These commandments which 
God has given us were interpreted and confirmed 
by Christ Our Lord. 

The Commandments of Charity. 

The observance of the commandments must not 
spring from servile fear, but from the love of God. 
He who loves God does not only keep the com- 
mandments, but he keeps them all with equal 
fidelity; and he who loves God loves everything 
God has created in His infinite love, especially 
man, the image of God and co-heir of His eternal 
kingdom. Whoever is animated by the spirit of 
love does everything that is according to the will 
of God, and avoids everything that is contrary to 
His will, and he does and avoids all this because 
it is the will of God. Therefore the Apostle 
says : " Love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 
xiii. 10). 

Even in the time of Moses God spoke thus to 
the Israelites : " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God 
is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, 
and with thy whole strength" (Deut. vi. 4, 5). 



20 hitroduction. 

And God impressed this commandment most em- 
phatically on the Israelites when He said: "These 
words which I command thee this day shall be in 
thy heart; and thou shalt tell them to thy chil- 
dren, and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in 
thy house and walking on thy journey, sleeping and 
rising. And thou shall bind them as a sign on thy 
hand, and they shall be and move between thy eyes, 
and thou shalt write them in the entry, and on the 
doors of thy house" (Deut. vi. 6-9). 

What God has commanded in the Old Covenant, 
Jesus Christ has not only confirmed in the New, 
but He has explained it. and shown us its right ap- 
plication. One day a scribe asked Our Lord which 
was the first commandment of all, and Jesus an- 
swered : " The first commandment of all is, Hear, O 
Israel : The Lord thy God is one God. And thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, 
and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, 
and with thy whole strength. This is the first com- 
mandment. And the second is like to it: Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no 
other commandment greater than these" (St. Mark 
xii. 29-31). 

Charity. 

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy 
whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy 
whole mind, and with thy whole strength." The 



Charity. 2 1 

meaning of this commandment is this: We must 
love God by a deliberate act of the will (heart), 
we must reflect how we can put this love into ac- 
tion (soul), we must really love God with an ardent 
inward charity (mind), and what our will and our 
intellect have thus apprehended we must practise 
to the best of our ability (strength). And as the 
Israelites were always to have the law of God be- 
fore their eyes, so it must ever be present to our 
soul, that its observance is the end for which we 
were created. It is impossible, however, for us 
to do this of our own selves, but only by means 
of a supernatural faculty which we receive in holy 
Baptism. Therefore we call charity, as well as 
faith, an infused virtue, and, because it has God for 
its object, a theological virtue. "The charity of 
God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy 
Ghost who is given us" (Rom. v. 5). 

1. God must be the object of our love, z>., we 
must love God above everything else in the world. 
For the love of God we must, if necessary, sacrifice 
all the goods of this earth; we must leave father 
and mother, nay, even give our own life, if charity 
requires it. All we are allowed to love in this 
world, we may only love for the sake of God, and 
in so far as He permits it. We must rather lose 
everything than commit a sin, for sin separates us 
from God. " He that loveth father or mother more 
than Me, is not worthy of Me ; and he that loveth 



22 Introduction. 

son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me" 
(St. Matt. x. 37). 

2. It it not at all opposed to the love of God that 
man love himself. He is a creature of God, a child 
of God, an heir of the kingdom of heaven, destined 
for eternal bliss. This high dignity confers on the 
Christian not only the right to love himself, but 
makes self-love a duty for him. Here, again, how- 
ever, man may only love himself so far as this love 
coincides with the will of God, as no sin is com- 
mitted, and as the honor of God is not offended. 
When charity is violated, all temporal gain, even 
the greatest, is a loss; but every loss we suffer for 
the love of God is a gain for us. " He that loveth 
his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in 
this world keepeth it unto life eternal" (St. John 
xii. 25). 

3. Although we must love God because He com- 
mands it, love from this motive would be a most 
imperfect love. We must rather love God because 
He is the Sovereign Good, because He is most wor- 
thy of our love, and because He contains in Him- 
self all perfection. He is the most excellent, the 
most beautiful, the most perfect, and therefore the 
most amiable. He alone is the Sovereign and 
Eternal Good. Therefore Nehemias prays in these 
words: "O Lord God, Creator of all things, 
dreadful and strong, just and merciful, who alone 
art the good King, who alone art gracious, who 



Charity. 23 

alone art just, and almighty, and eternal" (2 Mach. 
i. 24, 25). 

But we also may and ought to love God for the 
sake of the many benefits which He has conferred 
on us and is still conferring every moment. Even 
before we began to live the Lord looked on us 
with an eye of mercy and called us to be His chil- 
dren. He says to us through the prophet : " I 
have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore 
have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee" (Jer. 
xxxi. 3). 

From the very first moment of our life to our 
last breath the Lord loads us with undeserved 
benefits. And these benefits are at the same time 
the means of our salvation, for they sustain the life 
of the soul as well as that of the body, in order 
that we may fulfil both our earthly and our heavenly 
destiny. This love is called the love of gratitude. 
" Let us therefore love God, because God first hath 
loved us" (1 St. John iv. 19). 

4. We must moreover love God, because He has 
prepared eternal beatitude for us. This beatitude 
consists in the possession and enjoyment of God 
Himself. Therefore those who love God feel a 
longing for God, which is thus described by the 
apostle : " I have a desire to be dissolved and to 
be with Christ" (Phil. i. 23). 

5. Charity does not only manifest itself in loving 
affections and emotions, but in an upright mind, in 



24 Introduction. 

strong resolves, and above all in the observance of 
the commandments. It stands to reason that he 
who acts contrary to the will of God has no love 
for Him. Therefore Our Saviour says expressly: 
" He that hath My commandments and keepeth 
them, he it is that loveth Me" (St. John xiv. 21). 

Application. 

1. Although charity does not consist in tender 
emotions, we must not omit to evoke loving affec- 
tions in our hearts. Even when we are at work, 
and then more than ever, we can prove to God 
that for love of Him we are ready to do and suffer 
all, and to bear all hardships. Let us offer Him 
our thoughts, affections, desires, actions, toils, and 
privations, and let us unite them all with the great 
sacrifice of love which Our Saviour offered for us. 

2. But let us also speak very often of the love of 
God, not only in order to animate ourselves, but 
also to enkindle divine love in the hearts of our 
fellow-men, for this is the will of God expressed 
in the following words: "I am come to cast fire 
on the earth, and what will I but that it be kin- 
dled?" (St. Luke xii. 49.) 

Exa?nples. 

Abraham would have made the greatest sacrifice 
for the love of God: he would have killed his 
own son (Gen. xxii.). The three Israelites, An- 



Charity. 25 

nias, Azarias, and Misael, allowed themselves to 
be thrown into the fiery furnace rather than adore 
the statue erected by Nabuchodonosor (Dan. iii. 
20). Eleazar let himself be beaten to death with 
scourges, but he did not touch the swine's flesh 
which was put before him (2 Mach. vi.). The 
Machabean brothers and their mother showed equal 
fortitude (2 Mach. vii.). St. Stephen, the proto- 
martyr, and all the other martyrs of Christ give us 
the same glorious example. 

All for the Love of God. 

The heart of St. John of the Cross burned with 
such an ardent love of God that the hardest trials 
and privations seemed easy to him, because he bore 
all adversities with his eyes fixed on Him who first 
loved us. He went so far as never to accept an 
invitation to dine when he had preached in a 
strange place, for he said : " I do not want to ac- 
cept pay from men for what I have done for the 
love of God." Once he was innocently imprisoned 
and even bodily ill-treated. But, when he was set 
free, he only complained that he had so little to 
suffer. To those who wondered at his lamenta- 
tions, he answered: "Do not be astonished that I 
love suffering so much, for when I was in prison 
God gave me a great knowledge of the value of 
suffering borne for the love of Him." On his death- 
bed he kept on sighing for release. When asked 



26 Introduction. 

by a brother whether he wished to be released on 
account of his pains, he answered with a smile : 
" No, dear brother, but because of my hearty desire 
to see God the hours seem so long to me." The^ 
Church therefore calls St. John of the Cross, in the 
Collect of his feast, a lover of the Cross. 

Sins Against the Love of God* 

Every sin violates charity. The effect of mortal 
sin is to kill the love of God in our soul, whereas 
venial sin only weakens its fervor. But there are 
sins which in themselves are opposed to the love of 
God. To these belongs above all : 

i. Hatred of God. This is the devil's own sin. 
For he did not simply transgress a commandment, 
but he rebelled against God and would have de- 
prived Him of His sovereignty, and put himself 
in His place, had he been able to do so. Then 
there is: 

2. Impiety or contempt of God, when we turn 
away from God. An impious man of this kind is 
found in Pharao, who, on being asked by Moses 
in the name of God to let the Israelites depart, 
hardened his heart, and, in spite of all the divine 
judgments which he saw before his eyes, would not 
turn to God. 

3. Forgetfulness of God, or indifference for God's 
honor. Of this sin those are chiefly guilty who 



Sins Against the Love of God. 27 

know that their inferiors commit sin and do not in- 
terfere, or allow God to be blasphemed in their 
presence and do not raise their voice against it. 

4. Murmuring against God's providence. In 
this way Jonas sinned, who tried to evade the com- 
mand of God by taking ship for Tharsis, instead of 
going to Ninive. And when God spared the in- 
habitants of Ninive, because they did penance, 
put on sackcloth, and proclaimed a fast, he mur- 
mured against God and wished to die (Jonas i. 3; 
iv. 2-4). 

The opposite virtue of these sins is zeal for God's 
honor, which boldly opposes all evil. 

5. Lastly, we have to name idolatry in its ex- 
tended sense, i.e., such an inordinate affection for 
creatures that we would rather transgress God's 
commandments and commit sin, or allow others to 
commit sin, than overcome the love of creatures or 
keep it in its proper bounds. Thus parents love 
their children more than God when they allow 
them to do as they like, and bring them up to van- 
ity and pride, whereas God commands that they 
should be trained in modesty, obedience, and hu- 
mility. So also many a one loves a person, and, 
in order to obtain her in marriage, he sacrifices his 
faith and the faith of his children if this is made 
a condition. Animals are often loved inordinately, 
and so much is spent on them that the poor would 
be glad to have only part of it. If anybody loves 



28 Introduction. 

money and possessions so much that he strives to 
acquire them by unlawful means, or does not re- 
store them when he has acquired them dishonestly, 
or if he becomes hard towards his fellow-men for 
the sake of worldly gain, he adores Mammon. The 
god of the glutton is his belly. 

This kind of idolatry is, moreover, committed by 
all those who trust more in man than in God. All 
the impious are guilty of it. 

Every inordinate affection leads to this crea- 
ture worship, if we do not resist it from the very 
beginning. 

Zeal for the Honor of God. 

In the time of Antiochus, king of Syria, there 
lived in the Jewish town of Modin a priest of the 
name of Mathathias. He was much honored in all 
Judea for his piety and zeal for the law of God. 
He had five sons, who, like their father, walked in 
the ways of the law ; Judas, who afterwards received 
the name of Machabeus the Hammer, was the 
greatest among them. To this man King Antiochus 
sent messengers to ask him and the inhabitants of 
Modin to sacrifice to heathen idols and eat swine's 
flesh, and to threaten him with death if he refused. 
If, on the contrary, Mathathias would offer sacrifice, 
he and his sons were to be counted among the 
friends of the king, and loaded with gold and sil- 
ver and many presents. But Mathathias answered 



Charity Towards Our Neighbor. 29 

and said in a loud voice : " Although all nations 
obey King Antiochus, so as to depart every man 
from the service of the law of his fathers, and con- 
sent to his commandments, I and my sons, and my 
brethren, will obey the law of our fathers." And, 
when a Jew stepped forth in the sight of all to offer 
sacrifice on the altar which the messenger of An- 
tiochus had erected, his wrath was kindled, and 
he slew him on the altar, and pulled down the 
altar. And he left the city with his sons and fled 
into the mountains, and many that sought after 
judgment and justice went up with him, and they 
went round about and threw down the altars, and 
they recovered the law out of the hands of the na- 
tions and yielded not the horn to the sinner (1. 
Mach. ii.). 

Charity Towards Our Neighbor* 

The object of our love is God in the first place, 
but our neighbor in the second, and the command- 
ment of charity towards our neighbor is expressly 
declared by Our Lord to be equivalent to the com- 
mandment of charity towards God. "And the 
second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself" (St. Mark xii. 31). 

1. The word neighbor does not only designate 
those who are nearly related to us by the ties of 
blood, or who live with us in the same house, not 
only our friends, our countrymen, our namesakes, 



30 Introduction. 

but every one who has a claim on our help, whether 
he be of our faith or not, whether he be our friend 
or our enemy. Our Saviour clearly teaches this in 
the parable of the Good Samaritan (St. Luke x.). 
It is where the need is greatest that we must help 
first, and this is especially the case where the soul 
is in danger. But when the necessity is equally 
great, we may give the preference to our relatives, 
friends, and those of our own faith. We may also 
render greater assistance to those who are more 
worthy of charity, and we may refuse our help al- 
together to those who constantly abuse it. " Whilst 
we have time, let us work good to all men, but 
especially to those who are of the household of the 
faith" (Gal. vi. 10). 

2. We must love our neighbor for the sake of 
God. In man we love and honor God Himself, for 
man is created after the image of God. Moreover, 
we are members of the same family, for we are 
children of God, we have God for our common 
Father, we have all the same vocation to attain 
heaven, whether we be rich or poor. The Prophet 
Malachias reproves the Jews for their want of char- 
ity when he says: "Have we not all one Father? 
Hath not one God created us ? Why then doth every 
one of us despise his brother?" (Mai. ii. 10). 

Besides, love of our neighbor is the test by 
which we know whether love of God be genuine, 
for the Apostle says: " If any man say, I love God, 



Charity Towards Our Neighbor. 31 

and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that 
loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can 
he love God, whom he seeth not? And this 
commandment we have from God, that he who 
loveth God love also his brother" (1 St. John iv. 
20, 21). 

3. When the commandment says: "Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself," this does not imply 
that I am bound to love him in the same degree as 
myself, but that I must love him in the same man- 
ner as myself. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches ex- 
pressly that the words " as myself" do not refer to 
the degree, but to the manner in which we must 
love. In the same way as we desire all good for 
ourselves and try to avoid all evil, we are to desire 
every blessing for our fellow-men, and grieve with 
them over their misfortunes. " Rejoice with them 
that rejoice, weep with them that weep" (Rom. 
xii. 15). 

How we are to love our neighbor is summed up 
very simply in the following two precepts of the 
natural law : " Do not do to others what you do not 
wish them to do to you;" "Do to others as you 
wish to be done by." 

These precepts of the natural law are confirmed 
by Holy Scriptures. When the elder Tobias thought 
he was going to die, he exhorted his son in these 
words : " See thou never do to another what thou 
wouldst hate to have done to thee by another" 



32 Introduction. 

(Tob. iv. 16). And Our Saviour teaches: "All 
things therefore whatsoever you would that men 
should do to you, do you also to them. For this is 
the law and the prophets" (St. Matt. vii. 12). 

4. But charity must not be satisfied with empty 
words and wishes, it must show itself in works of 
practical help and assistance in corporal as well as 
in spiritual need. The apostle exhorts us in the 
name of God in these words : " Let us not love in 
word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth 
(1 St. John iii. 18). 

5. This precept of charity does not, however, 
give a right to the poor to claim our help and 
assistance. They must look for charity and mercy, 
which they may invoke, but which they must try 
to merit by faith and confidence, by patience and 
content, by temperance and industry. The Apos- 
tle Paul could write of himself to the Christians: 
"When I was present with you, and wanted, I was 
chargeable to no man : In all things I have kept 
myself from being burthensome to you, and so I 
will keep myself" (2 Cor. xi. 9). 

6. Holy Scripture recommends to our charity 
above all widows and orphans, for they are those 
who have generally lost their protector and support. 
The impious take advantage of their helplessness, 
and injure and oppress them, because they have 
nobody to take up their cause. " Religion clean 
and undefiled before God and the Father is this: 



Charity Towards Our Neighbor. 33 

to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribula- 
tion" (St. James i. 27). 

7. How charity shows itself in our daily inter- 
course with our fellow-men is described by St. Paul 
in these words : " Charity is patient, is kind : char- 
ity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed 
up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not pro- 
voked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in 
iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all 
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, en- 
dureth all things" (1 Cor. xiii. 4-7). 

Examples. 

Holy Scripture tells us the most beautiful and 
touching examples of charity. Abraham sat before 
his tent and saw three strangers come to him. He 
did not know them, but he adored them down to the 
ground, and said : " Lord, if I have found favor in 
Thy sight, pass not away from Thy servant; but I 
will fetch a little water and wash your feet, and rest 
ye under the tree. And I will send a morsel of bread, 
and strengthen ye your heart." Then Abraham 
hastened to the tent and said to Sara: "Make 
haste, temper together three measures of flour, and 
make cakes upon the hearth." He bade his servant 
to prepare a very tender calf; he himself took but- 
ter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and 
set it before his guests. (Gen. xviii. 2-8.) When 
Abraham's servant, Eleazar, asked Rebecca for a 
3 



34 Introduction. 

little water, she did not only give him to drink out 
of her pitcher, but she ran back to the well to draw 
water, and having drawn, she gave to all the camels 
(Gen. xxiv. 20). When the Israelites began to 
think that Moses had forsaken them, and made a 
golden calf in order to adore it, and God wanted to 
destroy the whole nation, Moses prayed thus to the 
Lord : " Either forgive them this trespass, or if Thou 
do not, strike me out of the book that Thou hast 
written" (Exod. xxxii. 31). He was ready to give 
up eternal bliss rather than let the people perish. 
Tobias daily went among all his kindred, and com- 
forted them, and distributed to every one as he was 
able of his goods, so that he became poor himself 
(Tob. i. 19). 

At the marriage of Cana, our Blessed Lady inter- 
ceded for the guests when the wine failed (St, 
John ii. 3). The early Christians had all things 
in common, " neither did any one say that aught of 
the things which he possessed was his own" (Acts 
iv. 32). The pious Tabitha was full of good works 
and almsdeeds which she did. When she was 
dead, and they sent for St. Peter, all the widows 
stood about him weeping and showing him the coats 
and garments which Tabitha had made (Acts ix. 

36-39)- 

How beautiful is the sympathy of the neighbors 
and kinsfolk of Elizabeth, who rejoiced when they 
heard that the Lord had showed His great mercy 



Love of Our Enemies. 35 

towards her (St. Luke i. 58). When the widow 
of Nain followed the body of her son to the grave, 
a great multitude of the city was with her. And 
when Our Lord had given back the son to his 
afflicted mother, they glorified God and rejoiced 
with her (St. Luke vii. 12-16). St. Paul says of 
himself that he had great sadness and continual 
sorrow in his heart, because his kinsmen would not 
receive the Gospel of Christ, and he wished, like 
Moses, to be anathema if only his brethren might 
be in union with Christ (Rom. ix. 23). 

Love of Our Enemies* 

The commandment which God has given us to 
love our neighbor extends to our enemies. No- 
body may be excluded from our love. This seems 
very hard to our poor human nature. But : 

1. God has expressly commanded it, and this 
alone is sufficient for convincing us that we can 
love our enemies. Our Saviour says : " Love your 
enemies, do good to them that hate you. Bless 
them that curse you, and pray for them that calum- 
niate you" (St. Luke vi. 27, 28). 

He has, moreover, given us the example Himself: 
He did not only pray for His executioners, He 
also made excuses for them when He said : " Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do" 
(St. Luke xxiii. 34). 



36 Introduction. 

St. Leo says, in contemplating this wonderful 
love: "Our Lord did not remember that He was 
dying by His enemies, He only remembered that 
He was dying for them." 

2. Our Lord has attached the pardon of our own 
sins to our readiness to forgive those who have in- 
jured us. He taught us to pray: "Forgive us our 
trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against 
us." And He added expressly : "If you will for- 
give men their offences, your heavenly Father will 
forgive you also your offences. But if you will not 
forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you 
your offences" (St. Matt. vi. 14, 15). 

Whoever does not forgive his enemies draws 
down upon himself the curse of God in saying the 
Our Father, for he says: Do to me, O Lord, as I 
do to my enemies, and, because I do not forgive 
them, do Thou not forgive me either. We see how 
such an unforgiving man is dealt with in the para- 
ble of the unmerciful servant, who did not come 
out of prison till he had paid the last farthing, 
although his master had forgiven him his whole 
enormous debt before. 

3. This precept of loving our enemies does not 
enjoin that we should love our enemies in the same 
way as we love our friends, parents, benefactors, 
i.e., not as sensibly and as tenderly, but we must 
not wish them any harm, but rather, as far as we 
can, shield them from evil. We must not only 



Love of Our Enemies. 37 

wish them all good from our hearts, we must do 
good unto them as far as we can. On no account 
may the Christian take revenge for injuries he has 
received. If he whom we deem our enemy has 
done us any injury, God will punish him, for He 
says: "Revenge is Mine, and I will repay them in 
due time" (Deut. xxxii. 35). 

If we treat our enemy with charity, we imitate 
our heavenly Father, "who maketh His sun to 
rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the 
just and the unjust" (St. Matt. v. 45). 

4. If we have been injured by any one, we may try 
to obtain just and legal reparation; when we are 
assaulted, we may defend ourselves as far as is 
necessary. On the other hand, we may not refuse 
to salute our adversary or to return his salute, we 
may not revile and insult him, or refuse him such 
services as usage and custom require, especially 
when he is in distress. We must altogether show 
by our outward conduct that we have no hatred or 
rancor in our heart, but are ready to be reconciled 
with our enemy, even should he himself not be will- 
ing to forgive. 

Application. 

1. Let us strive above all to banish all bitter- 
ness from our hearts, and let us consider that it is 
often mere thoughtlessness, and not malice, by 
which we have been offended. Let us pray for 



3$ Introduction. 

our adversaries, that God may give them a right 
understanding. But let us remember above all 
that, whatever men may do to injure us, their guilt 
towards us is only very small in comparison with 
the immense debt we have incurred by offending 
God. 

2. As long as we harbor any enmity in our 
heart, all our good works are of no avail. There- 
fore Our Saviour exhorts us in these words: "If, 
therefore, thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there 
thou remember that thy brother has anything 
against thee, leave there thy offering before the 
altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: 
and then coming, thou shalt offer thy gift" (St. 
Matt. v. 23, 24). 

3. Let us render good for evil according to the 
words of the apostle: "If thy enemy be hungry, 
give him to eat : if he thirst, give him to drink. 
For, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon 
his head" (Rom. xii. 20). 

Examples. 

The sons of Jacob had treated their brother Jo- 
seph most cruelly and had deserved severe punish- 
ment. When Joseph held them in his power, he 
could easily have revenged himself on them. But 
he not only refrained from taking revenge, but 
moreover loaded them with benefits after the death 
of their father Jacob (Gen. 1. 21). David was 



Works of Mercy. j) 

threatened with death by Saul, to whom he had 
rendered great service, and was obliged to flee. 
Saul pursued him with 3,000 men in the desert, and 
searched all the nooks and caves for him, but 
David knew the hiding-places in the desert better 
than he. Once he was so near Saul that he could 
have killed him, but he contented himself with 
cutting off the hem of his robe, and sent it to Saul 
in order to show him that he could have put him 
to death. Another time David went in the night 
with his armor-bearer Abisai into Saul's tent, and 
Abisai asked David to kill his persecutor. But 
David only took Saul's spear and his cup of water 
with him, and thus showed to the king that God 
had given him in his power, but that he had honored 
in Saul the anointed of the Lord (1 Kings xxiv. 
1 -1 2). The proto-martyr St. Stephen gave us, like 
Our Saviour Himself, an example of love towards 
our enemies. He not only forgave, but he prayed 
with his dying breath for his murderers in these 
words : " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" 
(Acts vii. 59). 

Works of Mercy* 

Charity towards our neighbor is exercised in 
relieving either his corporal or his spiritual need. 
Somebody may be very rich and live in abundance, 
and yet*be in spiritual want. And another may be 
destitute and not possess a farthing, and yet help 



40 Intrdduction. 

the soul of his neighbor. Whether we relieve the 
corporal or the spiritual need of a fellow-creature, 
we give an alms. Such a work is called a work 
of mercy. Therefore we distinguish corporal and 
spiritual works of mercy. 

Corporal Works of Mercy. 

The corporal works of mercy are : 

1. To feed the hungry. 

2. To give drink to the thirsty. 

3. To clothe the naked. 

4. To harbor the harborless. 

5. To visit the sick. 

6. To redeem the prisoners. 

7. To bury the dead. 

1. The unequal distribution of worldly goods 
shows that it is the will of God that those who 
are rich in possessions should assist those who 
have none, not by sharing their property with 
them, but by preserving them from want. God has, 
moreover, expressly enjoined this duty on us, and 
has promised a reward in heaven to those who ful- 
fil it. To those on His right hand who have 
done works of mercy, He will say on the Day of 
Judgment : " Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess 
you the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
tion of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave 
Me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave * Me to 
drink : I was a stranger, and you took Me in : naked, 



Works of Mercy. 41 

and you covered Me ; sick, and you risked Me : I 
was in prison, and you came to Me" (St. Matt, 
xxv. 34-36). 

But to those on His left who did not feed the 
hungry nor give drink to the thirsty, the Lord will 
say on the last day : " Depart from Me, you cursed, 
into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the 
devil and his angels. And these shall go into ever- 
lasting punishment" (St. Matt. xxv. 41, 46). 

2. By doing works of mercy we obtain not only 
spiritual graces and a reward in heaven, but even 
temporal blessings, as is shown in the story of 
Tobias, who by his almsdeeds earned the grace of 
having his eyesight restored to him and of receiv- 
ing great riches besides. 

And the Angel Raphael declared to Tobias: 
" When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury 
the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the 
dead by day in thy house, and bury them by night, 
I offered thy prayer to the Lord" (Tob. xii. 12). 

3. In giving alms, the following principles ought 
to be followed : We may only give alms of our own 
legitimate property. Of strange property we may 
only give alms if the owner allows it, or if his per- 
mission can be taken for granted. Thus servants 
and children may only give alms out of the com- 
mon family property as far as the master of the 
house expressly or tacitly permits. The mother of 
the family, however, has a right to give alms with 



42 Introduction. 

moderation, even without asking leave. Servants 
may give away remains of food if they are sure 
that otherwise they would go to waste. 

In ordinary cases of want we are obliged to give 
alms at least of our abundance. When our neigh- 
bor is in great distress, we must give even that 
which is required to keep up our position in life, 
and must retrench upon our comforts. But when 
our neighbor is in extreme need we are bound to 
give all that is not absolutely necessary for our own 
maintenance. 

4. The best alms are those for which we deprive 
ourselves — of our own food or some other necessary. 
He who gives of his superfluity does a good work, 
but he who gives what he needs himself does a bet- 
ter one. It was therefore a beautiful custom with 
our forefathers always to give alms on fast-days, 
for we are not to fast in order to save for ourselves, 
but in order to give to the poor what we have 
saved. The poor widow who cast two mites into 
the treasury cast in more than all the others, ac- 
cording to Our Lord's own words: " For she of her 
want cast in all the living that she had" (St. Luke 
xxi. 4). " Prayer is good with fasting and alms, 
more than to lay up treasures of gold : for alms de- 
livered from death, and the same is that which 
purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and 
life everlasting" (Tob. xii. 8, 9). 

There are two more rules which we must follow 



Works of Mercy. 43 

in giving alms. First, we must not be slow when 
our help is needed. Many a one might have 
helped, but he delayed too long, and, when he 
wanted to give at last, it was too late, and help was 
of no use. " He gives double who gives quickly." 

Secondly, when we give, it must be done cheer- 
fully. "God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 
ix. 7). 

We should follow the exhortation which Tobias 
gave to his son : " According to thy ability be mer- 
ciful. If thou have much, give abundantly : if thou 
have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a 
little" (Tob. iv. 8, 9). 

Lastly, the best way of giving alms is by adding 
a spiritual work of mercy to a corporal one. When 
we open our hand the poor man's heart goes out 
to us, and a loving exhortation finds a willing ear. 

Application. 

1. How consoling is the thought that when we 
give we are not only none the poorer for it, but 
our possession will be increased by that hundred- 
fold reward which Our Saviour will bestow on us 
some day in the dwellings of His heavenly Father. 
What we give to the poor will be kept for us in 
the great treasury from which we shall draw in the 
Day of Judgment. " He that hath mercy on the 
poor lendeth to the Lord: and He will repay him" 
(Prov. xix. 17). 



44 Introduction. 

2 By giving alms we gain the intercession of 
the poor, for it is written : " Shut up alms in the 
heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help for thee 
against all evil" (Ecclus. xxix. 15). 

When, therefore, we are in any trouble we must 
not only turn to God in our prayers, but give alms, 
and God will be merciful to us as we have been 
merciful to His poor. " Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall obtain mercy" (St. Matt. v. 7). 

3. "Almsgiving does not make poor," says the 
Proverb. He who provides for the poor provides 
for himself. " He that giveth to the poor shall not 
want: he that despiseth his entreaty shall suffer 
indigence" (Prov. xxviii. 27). 

Examples. 

The beautiful examples of practical charity which 
we have quoted from Holy Scriptures (p. $■$) are 
as many examples of the exercise of mercy. The 
lives of the saints abound in instances of the no- 
blest generosity. 

St. Louis, king of France, always fed a hundred 
and twenty poor at his table, wherever he might be. 
St. Bernard deprived himself every day of a part of 
the food which was put before him, and often suffered 
hunger for several days, in order to be able to pro- 
vide for the poor. St. Elizabeth, landgravine of 
Thuringia, spun, knitted, sewed for the poor and 
made garments for them with her own hands. St. 



Works of Mercy. 45 

Basil knew no other use to make of the lands which 
the emperor had given him but to sell them and 
build a hospital with the money. Deo Gratias, 
the holy bishop of Carthage, not only gave away 
all he possessed, but also sold the gold and silver 
vessels of his church in order to redeem the cap- 
tives which Genseric, king of the Vandals, had car- 
ried off to Africa. The holy Pope Gregory could 
not be dissuaded from visiting the sick at the time 
of the plague, and taking the sacraments to them in 
person. 

Spiritual Works of Mercy. 

In the same way as we speak of seven corporal 
works of mercy, we count seven spiritual works of 
mercy, viz. : 

1. To instruct the ignorant. 

2. To admonish sinners. 

3. To counsel the doubtful. 

4. To comfort the afflicted. 

5. To bear wrongs patiently. 

6. To forgive injuries. 

7. To pray for the living and the dead. 

1. It is our duty to instruct the ignorant if by 
our instruction we can confirm them in their faith, 
or convert them from heresy by helping them to 
the knowledge of the truth, or if we can prevent sin 
or evil. 

2. We are bound to admonish the sinner when the 



46 Introduction. 

sin is a grievous one, and especially when the err- 
ing person is under our charge, as, for instance, chil- 
dren, servants, journeymen, apprentices, laborers, 
etc. On the other hand, we are not obliged to re- 
prove them if this duty is very difficult and we can- 
not expect any result from it, provided that our office 
and position do not make it incumbent on us. But 
all admonitions must be administered with charity, 
in the spirit of humility, and in the consciousness 
of our own sinfulness, without any asperity. Such 
admonition is called fraternal correction. 

3. Counselling the doubtful is a duty for us when 
we know for certain or have reason to assume that 
the advice we can give is really good. But even 
good advice must not be forced on any one, but ought 
to be given with kindness and benevolence. 

4. When an injury is done unto us and we sus- 
tain some loss thereby, or our honor and good name 
are attainted, we may seek for reparation and re- 
dress even by going to law, but we must not with- 
hold our interior forgiveness. 

5. Prayer for others is the perfection and com- 
pletion of all works of mercy, because we implore 
the divine assistance for those whom we cannot help 
ourselves. 

Examples. 

St. John the Baptist rebuked Herod severely for 
having his brother's wife, although he could foresee 



Works of Mercy. 47 

that his boldness would cost him his liberty (St. 
Mark vi. 18). Our Saviour Himself deigned to show 
us how we are to instruct the ignorant by His dis- 
course with the Samaritan woman, whom He treated 
with so much kindness, although she was by no 
means a virtuous person (St. John iv.). The an- 
cient counsellors of Roboam, who had stood by his 
father when he was still alive, gave this salutary 
advice to the king: "If thou please this people, 
and soothe them with kind words, they will be thy 
servants forever." If Roboam had followed this 
warning, the ten tribes would not have fallen away 
from him (2 Par. x.). How beautiful is the exhorta- 
tion of St. Paul to the Thessalonians : " We beseech 
you, brethren, rebuke the unquiet, comfort the fee- 
ble-minded, support the weak, be patient towards 
all men" (1 Thess. v. 14). When David was obliged 
to flee from Absalom, his unnatural son, a relation 
of Saul, called Semei, met him and cursed him, 
called him a man of blood and a man of Belial, and 
threw stones at him. Abisai, David's armor-bearer, 
wanted to go and cut off Semei's head, but David 
said: "Let him alone, that he may curse as the 
Lord has bidden him. Perhaps the Lord may look 
upon my affliction, and the Lord may render me 
good for the cursing of this day" (2 Kings xvi. n, 
12). Pope Gregory VII. had the courage to make 
the Emperor Henry IV. do public penance in the 
courtyard of the Castle of Canossa for having trans- 



48 Introduction. 

gressed both human and divine law. The holy 
priest John Baptist de la Salle founded a society 
for the purpose of instructing Christian youth, the 
Congregation of Christian Brothers. St. Anthony 
was consulted from far and near, and even the em- 
peror and his sons wrote to him, and St. Anthony 
gave them salutary advice. St. Ambrose was a 
very powerful comforter. He raised up St. Monica, 
who was crushed by sorrow for the sinful life of 
her son. "It is not possible," he told her, "that 
the child of such tears should be lost." The early 
Christians, who were so cruelly persecuted by the 
heathens, prayed all the same in their religious 
assemblies for the Roman emperors. A holy 
priest in Alsace, in the neighborhood of New- 
Breisach, had the misfortune of incurring the anger 
of a wicked man. The latter fired a pistol at him 
one morning when he was returning from church, 
and wounded him mortally. The good priest not 
only forgave his murderer, but in the last moments 
before his death he appointed this man's children 
his heirs in order to save them from the misery 
which their father had brought upon them. St. 
Matilda, wife of the German Emperor Henry I., 
caused the holy sacrifice of the Mass to be offered 
every day for the repose of the soul of her deceased 
husband. 



XTbe Hen Commanfcments of 0ofc* 

The Giving" of the Law on Mount Sinai, 

The Lord God had led the descendants of Abra- 
ham to Egypt to make them a numerous nation 
there. But in order to train them to become a 
people among whom the knowledge of the true God 
should be cultivated, and out of which the Redeemer 
was to arise, they had to be separated for a time 
from all other nations and accustomed to consider 
themselves as the people of God. Therefore the 
Lord led the Israelites into the desert, He gave 
them statutes and commandments, and left them in 
the wilderness, till all those who had come out of 
Egypt were dead, and a new generation had sprung 
up who knew nothing of the flesh-pots and the idol- 
atry of the Egyptians. 

On the fiftieth day after the departure of the 
Israelites from Egypt, God gave them the Ten 
Commandments through Moses under circumstances 
which were to impress upon them in the most sol- 
emn manner the obligation of religiously observing 
them, and which were to fill them with fear. 
4 



$o The Ten Commandments of God. 

For two days the people had to sanctify them- 
selves and to wash their garments. Round about 
the mount certain limits were appointed to the 
people, and it was forbidden under pain of death to 
go up into the mount, or even to touch the borders 
thereof. On the morning of the third day thun- 
ders began to be heard and lightning to flash, and 
a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the 
noise of the trumpet sounded loud and awful as for 
the Judgment Day. And the people in the camp 
feared; but Moses led the Israelites out of the 
camp, and they stood at the bottom of the mount. 
And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke, because the 
Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke 
arose from it as out of a furnace, and all the mount 
was terrible. And the Lord came down upon 
Mount Sinai and called Moses unto the top thereof: 
" And the Lord spoke these words : 

" I. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out 
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me. Thou 
shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the 
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in 
the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in 
the waters under the earth. 

" Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them : I 
am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the 
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the 
third and fourth generation of them that hate Me: 



The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. 51 

and showing mercy unto thousands of them that 
love Me, and keep My commandments. 

" II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain : for the Lord will not hold him guilt- 
less that shall take the name of the Lord his God 
in vain. 

" III. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath 
day. Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all 
thy works. But on the seventh day is the Sabbath 
of the Lord thy God : thou shalt do no work on it, 
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man- 
servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the 
stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days 
the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and 
all things that are in them, and rested on the 
seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sev- 
enth day, and sanctified it. 

" IV. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou 
mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord 
thy God will give thee. 

" V. Thou shalt not kill. 

" VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

" VII. Thou shalt not steal. 

" VIII. Thou shall not bear false witness against 
thy neighbor. 

" IX., X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's 
house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his 
servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, 
nor anything that is his. 



52 The Ten Commandments of God. 

" And all the people saw the voices and the flames, 
and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smok- 
ing: and being terrified and struck with fear they 
stood afar off, saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, 
and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest 
we die." (Exod. xx. 1-19.) 

From that time forth God declared His Will to 
the people through Moses. And He gave to Moses 
two stone tables written with the finger of God 
(Exod. xxxi. 18). The tables were placed in the Ark 
of the Covenant, and were called " The Tables of 
the Testimony." And the Lord had written on the 
first table the three first commandments which con- 
tain our duty towards God. 

On the second table He had written the seven 
commandments which set forth our duties towards 
our fellow-men. They are the duties which must 
absolutely be observed if human society is to go on 
at all. They are, as it were, the four pillars on 
which the welfare of society rests, viz., 1, Order 
and purity of family life as ordained by God (fourth, 
sixth, and ninth commandments); 2, the safety of 
human life (fifth commandment) ; 3, the sacredness 
of property (seventh and tenth commandments) ; 4, 
the confidence which everybody is entitled to place 
in his neighbor (eighth commandment). These 
seven commandments are comprised in the precept 
of charity towards our neighbor, as the first three 
are contained in the precept of charity towards God. 



The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. 53 

Let us now consider the circumstances under 
which the promulgation of the divine law took 
place, and also the preparation which God required 
of the people. 

1. God allowed the Israelites first to feel the 
whole pressure of the Egyptian servitude, and to 
pass through the dreadful Egyptian plagues, before 
He gave them the law. By this they were to recog- 
nize in God their benefactor, and in the rugged 
desert they were to learn that they had no other 
helper than God alone. So we, too, shall be more 
ready to receive the law when we remember that in 
the desert of this life nothing can help us but God 
and the law of God. 

2. How carefully had the Israelites to prepare for 
the reception of the commandments! They had to 
wash themselves and their garments, and keep 
from all defilement. The Lord came in awful maj- 
esty, and spoke out of a thick cloud with fire, light- 
ning, and thunder. This is meant to teach us that 
we must receive the law of God with a chaste and 
humble heart, and that the punishments which God 
threatened await us if we do not observe the com- 
mandments. 

3. The Fourth and Fifth Books of Moses contain 
a complete and detailed code of laws, which Moses 
received directly from the hand of God. Of all 
these, only the ten commandments were written on 
the tables by God Himself. For the ten com- 



54 The Ten Commandments of God. 

mandments are the summary of the whole law, and 
are founded on the precepts of charity towards God 
and charity towards our neighbor. Therefore we 
have in the ten commandments a rule for all 
our actions, as they contain the whole moral law. 
They reveal a most wonderful wisdom. Even if we 
did not know that they are derived directly from 
God Himself, we could easily recognize their ori- 
gin, for no other people in the world have so perfect 
a code of laws, the greatest benefit to human so- 
ciety. Paganism was sunk so deep in the mire of 
vice because it did not know this code of laws. 
Therefore the people of the Israelites rank so high 
among all nations, and Moses justly said of them: 
"This is your wisdom, and understanding in the 
sight of nations, that hearing all these precepts, 
they may say: Behold a wise and understanding 
people, a great nation" (Deut. iv. 6). 

4. The whole law has been given to the Jews, 
but we Christians are equally bound to keep the 
part of it relating to morals, *>., the command- 
ments. Nay, we must not only keep these command- 
ments according to the letter, but we must endeavor 
to penetrate deeper and deeper into their spirit. 
Christ assures us : " Do not think that I am come 
to destroy the law or the prophets ; I am not come 
to destroy, but to fulfil" (St. Matt. v. 17). 

Our Saviour shows us by an example how this is 
meant when He says: "Unless your justice abound 



The Giving of the Laiv on Mount Sinai. 55 

more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you 
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You 
have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou 
shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill, shall be 
in danger of the judgment. But I say to you, that 
whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in 
danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say 
to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the 
council. And whosoever shall say, Thou fool, 
shall be in danger of hell-fire (St. Matt. v. 20-22)." 
We see, therefore, that we are to fulfil the com- 
mandments, not according to the letter, but accord- 
ing to the spirit of Jesus Christ. 

5. Every commandment which explicitly com- 
mands anything, implicitly prohibits all that is op- 
posed to the commandment. On the other hand, 
every commandment which expressly forbids any- 
thing, enjoins the contrary of what has been forbid- 
den. When God, for instance, says : " Thou shalt 
keep holy the Sabbath day," He prohibits at the 
same time everything by which the Sabbath can be 
profaned. And when God forbids that we should 
covet our neighbor's goods, He commands us at the 
same time to rejoice in our neighbor's possessions 
as if they were our own. This kind of justice is 
more perfect than the justice of the Pharisees, who 
only observed the letter of the law. 

6. Although we should keep the commandments 
for this reason alone, that our temporal welfare 



56 The Ten Commandments of God. 

depends on it, and that it would be the ruin of hu- 
man society if every one could lie, steal, and kill 
with impunity, yet, in order to incite us to keep 
His commandments, God has attached rewards 
and punishments to their observance or non-ob- 
servance. How abundant are the temporal blessings 
which the Lord will pour out on those who keep 
His law ! His promises are contained in the follow- 
ing proclamation addressed to His people, Israel: 
" If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, 
to do and keep all His commandments ... all these 
blessings shall come upon thee and overtake thee : 
. . . Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed in 
the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy womb, 
and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy 
cattle, the droves of thy herds, and the folds of thy 
sheep. Blessed shall be thy barns, and blessed 
thy stores. Blessed shalt thou be coming in and 
going out" (Deut. xxviii. 1-6). 

On the other hand, He lays the most dreadful 
curses on the transgressors of the law. " But if 
thcu wilt not hear the voice of the Lord thy God, 
to keep and to do all His commandments and cere- 
monies which I command thee this day, all these 
curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, cursed in the field. 
Cursed shall be thy barn, and cursed thy stores. 
Cursed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit 
of thy grounds, the herds of thy oxen, and the 



The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, 57 

flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt t'hou be coming 
in, and cursed going out. The Lord shall send 
upon thee famine and hunger" (Deut. xxviii. 15-20). 

These are great promises and fearful punish- 
ments. But what are temporal punishments in 
comparison with the awful pains of hell, which 
those have to undergo who do not keep the com- 
mandments of God, and cannot enter life. And how 
insignificant are all temporal blessings when com- 
pared with those heavenly joys which Holy Scrip- 
ture describes by that one word : Life ! The reward 
of him who keeps the commandments is no other 
than God Himself, He who said to Abraham : " I 
am thy reward exceeding great" (Gen. xv. 1). 

7. God prefaced the Ten Commandments with 
these words: "I am the Lord thy God, who led 
thee out of the land of Egypt, and of the house of 
bondage." We are reminded, therefore, that God is 
our Master, whom we are bound to serve, because 
we belong to Him ; we are reminded that the Mas- 
ter whom we serve is God, that hence we cannot 
be slaves of men, but that the whole of our life 
consists in service of God. And the Jews were put 
in mind that God was their Benefactor, their Re- 
deemer, and that to serve Him was for them a duty 
of gratitude. We Christians have not only been 
redeemed from bodily servitude, but from the sla- 
very of sin and of Satan, and the precious blood 
has opened for us the Promised Land of adoption 



58 The First Commandment of God. 

as God's children here below, and hereafter, the 
eternal kingdom of heaven. Thus both duty and 
gratitude compel us to keep the commandments of 
God. 



Zbe afirst Commandment. 

" Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me. Thou 
sha/tnot make to thyself any graven image to adore it." 

The Worship of God. 

Of all our duties the most important is our duty 
towards God. Therefore we are commanded first 
and foremost to recognize only one God as the true 
God of heaven and earth, and to render to Him 
alone that homage which we owe to the Supreme 
Being, who at the same time is our Master. This 
homage we call adoration. 

The first commandment enjoins principally those 
duties which are based on the theological virtues 
of faith, hope, and charity. As, however, believ- 
ing, hoping, and loving are acts of the soul, this 
worship is in the first place an interior one. But 
it is evident that the inward disposition of believ- 
ing in God, hoping in God, and loving God above 
all things must reveal itself in outward actions, 
just as the species and quality of a tree are known 
by the fruit it produces. Interior religion, there- 



The Worship of God. 59 

fore, must necessarily find its expression in exterior 
worship. 

1. We must mark above all that there is no inte- 
rior worship without an exterior one. The emotions 
of the soul determine the actions of a man. The 
modest, meek, humble, peaceable, chaste, kind, are 
known by their deeds as well as the proud, quarrel- 
some, angry, unchaste, hard-hearted. In the same 
way faith, hope, and charity show themselves in 
the outward conduct of a man if they are alive in 
his soul. Whoever worships God inwardly is 
urged to manifest his homage by outward acts. 

On the other hand, man can worship God ex- 
teriorly without believing in Him, without hoping 
in Him, without loving Him. He can dissemble 
and feign a false worship, he can join in the ser- 
vices of the Church, hold pious discourses, and yet 
not be a God-fearing man. He may do all this 
from human respect, from avarice, or other bad mo- 
tives. But this exterior worship is of no value, and 
a detestable hypocrisy. Such a man is like the 
Pharisees whom our blessed Lord taunted with 
being like whited sepulchres. Outwardly they ap- 
pear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead 
men's bones, and of all filthiness (St. Matt, xxiii. 27). 

2. From what we have just said it appears that 
in the Catholic Church external worship alone is 
not considered religion, that religion is not alto- 
gether an exterior act, that the Church does not 



60 The First Commandment of God. 

teach that we can gain eternal life by going to con- 
fession, communicating, praying, fasting, giving 
alms, going to church, etc. Nothing is more un- 
founded than this accusation. These works can 
only have any value and merit heaven when they 
proceed from the virtues of faith, hope, and char- 
ity. Therefore the apostle says : " And if I should 
distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I 
should deliver my body to be burned [in martyr- 
dom], and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" 
(i Cor. xiii. 3). 

Interior "Worship. 

We fulfil, therefore, the first commandment by 
believing in God and accepting everything God 
has revealed; 

By loving God above all things and all things 
for the love of God ; 

By placing in God and in God alone our hope 
and confidence; 

By standing in awe of God, walking in His holy 
fear; 

By praying to God, whether it be to adore Him, 
to supplicate Him, or to thank Him for the benefits 
which we have received; 

By uniting our will to the will of God, and desir- 
ing nothing but what God wills, and by exercising 
the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and 
charity. 



The Nature of Faith. 61 

We are bound to elicit acts of faith, hope, and 
charity when this is necessary for overcoming a 
temptation, or for the observance of a command- 
ment; when we come to the age of reason; when 
we are in danger of death, and, altogether, several 
times in the year. In addition to this we should 
make acts of these three virtues before and after 
receiving a sacrament. It is also a very com- 
mendable practice to do so as often as we assist at 
any service of the Church or listen to a sermon. 

The Nature of Faith* 

If we would attain the end for which we have 
been created, namely, the salvation of our souls, it 
is of vital necessity that we know God, by whom 
all things are made and have their being, and who 
is from all eternity. To such knowledge we can 
attain not through human reasoning, but only 
through faith. Now, faith is a virtue and a gift of 
God, whereby we hold for true whatever God has 
revealed and has presented through His Church for 
our acceptance and belief. 

Faith may be defined as follows: To hold for 
true whatever another tells us, without requiring 
from such person any proofs or evidences of the 
truth of his assertions. As soon as we know that 
a truth has been revealed by God, we believe it 
without exacting the proof of its genuineness, be- 



62 TJie First Commandment of God. 

cause we know that God cannot err nor can He as- 
sert falsehood, since He Himself is eternal and in- 
fallible truth. This is religious faith, or faith in 
the true sense of the word. 

Faith is a gift of God. St. Paul received this 
gift or grace of faith while journeying to Damascus 
with the avowed intent of persecuting the Chris- 
tians. We receive the grace of faith in Baptism, 
as well as in the other sacraments, by our zealous 
daily prayer. All our study, science, and labors 
cannot give us faith. Hence St. Paul writes: "By 
grace you are saved through faith, and that not of 
yourselves, for it is the gift of God" (Eph. ii. 8). 

Yet while granting us faith, God does not force 
our belief. We have our free will, which may 
either accept or reject faith. If we accept and pre- 
serve through life the faith given to us by God, if 
we direct all our thoughts, words, and actions in 
accordance with the law and requirements of faith, 
that faith becomes a real virtue, and then, and only 
then, may we call ourselves believing Christians. 
The true faith of a Catholic Christian is, therefore, 
a virtue and a gift of God, by which we hold for 
true whatever God has revealed. 

Exa??iple. 

In the year 1842 a young French Israelite, Al- 
phonse Ratisbonne, went to Rome. He stayed a 
few days in the Eternal City without taking much 



"J5ut H sas to sou not to swear at all 3Let \>our speecb 

be, 13ea f ?ca: IRo, no."— St. dbatt. v. 34.37. 




COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS. 

"Ubes brought fortb bim tbat batb blaspbemel) witbout tbe 
camp, ano tbes stoneo bim."— %ev. niv. 23. 

SECOND COMMANDMENT OF GOD, 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 

11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God 
in vain." 

Reflection. — The name of God is most holy 
and should always be pronounced in the most rever- 
ential manner. This our divine Saviour requires of 
us, for He teaches us to say in the " Our Father" — 
that most sublime and comprehensive of prayers: 
" Hallowed be Thy name." As disciples of Our Lord 
we are bound always to show due reverence to the 
holy name of God, and to seek, by our good life, to 
induce others to serve Him and to praise His holy 
name. At the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ we 
should at least bow our head in reverence, for St. 
Paul says : "In the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow." (Phil. ii. 10.) 

Practice. — In all our sufferings and trials let us 
always invoke with confidence the holy names of Jesus 
and Mary and the names of our special patrons. 

Prayer. — Our Father, who art in heaven ; hallowed 
be Thy name. Holy, holy, holy the Lord God of hosts. 
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. 



The Nature of Faith. 63 

interest in anything, and was about to leave when 
he remembered that he wanted to leave his card for 
Theodore, Baron of Bussiere, a friend of his broth- 
er. The baron, who had lately become a Catholic, 
was at home when Alphonse called, and being de- 
lighted to see him, persuaded him to prolong his 
stay in Rome. Although aware of Ratisbonne's 
antipathy to Christianity and especially to Catho- 
licity, the baron presented him with a miraculous 
medal and a copy of the "Memorare." Ratis- 
bonne accepted these merely to please his friend, 
but laughed at what he called the absurdity of the 
thing. But the words of the prayer made an im- 
pression on him, though he did not admit it. On 
the following day, January 10th, he and the baron 
visited the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle. The 
baron, wishing to attend to some business, excused 
himself for a while, and left his friend examining 
the architecture of the building. In about ten min : 
utes the baron returned, and was astonished to find 
his Jewish friend kneeling in the chapel of St. Mi- 
chael the Archangel, his head bent and his face 
bathed with tears. In his hand was the medal, 
which he kissed fervently. When his friend spoke 
to him, Ratisbonne exclaimed : " Oh, how favored 
I am! How happy I ought to be. I have been 
saved from a dreadful abyss. Alas ! my poor He- 
brew brethren. I can no longer live without Bap- 
tism. Oh, Baptism — only Baptism!" He then re- 



64 The First Commandment of God. 

lated that the Blessed Virgin, enveloped in glory, 
had appeared to him in the form in which she was 
represented in the miraculous medal, and had beck- 
oned him towards her, and that he then felt himself 
forced upon his knees, and perceived within his 
heart and intellect the light of a newly found di- 
vine faith. Eleven days after this event he was 
baptized. Subsequently he became a priest, and, 
under God, was the means of bringing his brother 
into the Church. 

The Necessity and Object of Faith. 

It is not a matter of indifference what we believe 
or how much we believe. We are bound to believe 
all that God has revealed without distinction. He 
who would gainsay the least part of divine revela- 
tion or refuse to accept the whole would deny 
God's own truthfulness. "Without faith it is im- 
possible to please God. For he that cometh to 
God must believe that He is, and is a rewarder of 
them that seek Him" (Heb. xi. 6). "If you be- 
lieve not you shall die in your sins" (St. John viii. 

24). 

It is not enough to know that what God says is 
true, because God is the eternal and infallible 
truth ; we must know with certainty and exactness 
what God has spoken to us. Who teaches this? 

St. Paul says : " God, who at sundry times and 



The Necessity and Object of Faith. 65 

in divers manners spoke in times past to the fath- 
ers by His prophets, last of all in these days hath 
spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath appointed 
heir of all things, by whom also He made the 
world" (Heb. i. 1, 2). When the fulness of time 
was come and sin had reached its most enormous 
proportions, God sent to man His only-begotten 
Son, Jesus Christ, that He might teach them and 
save them. Jesus Christ possessed the fulness of 
the Godhead, and hence the fulness of truth. This 
truth He imparted to His apostles, who became the 
leaders and teachers of the Church which He es- 
tablished then. ''As the Father has sent Me," 
said He to them, " so do I send you. Go teach all 
nations." To these also Christ sent the Holy 
Spirit, who was to remain with them and their suc- 
cessors for all time, teaching them all truth and 
preserving them from error. The apostles wrote 
down a part of the teachings of Christ and a slight 
sketch of His doings. These writings compose the 
Scriptures of the New Testament. The unwritten 
things of their Master the apostles communicated 
by word of mouth to their hearers, the early Chris- 
tians, and these are known as traditions. What- 
ever the Church presents to us for our belief, she 
has drawn from Holy Scripture and tradition, and 
hence her doctrines are nothing other than what 
was originally taught and revealed by God Himself 
through Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son. Be- 
5 



66 The First Commandment of God. 

cause the chief objects of our belief are contained 
in the Holy Scriptures and tradition, these are 
termed the Sources of Faith. 

Thus we know and understand the meaning of 
the proposition: The faith of the Catholic is a vir- 
tue and gift of God, whereby he holds for true and 
certain whatsoever God has revealed and the Cath- 
olic Church holds up for our belief. Remember 
the words of St. John : " He who heareth My word, 
and believeth Him that sent Me, hath everlasting 
life" (St. John v. 24). 

Example. 

We often hear it said that it is unreasonable to 
believe. The scientist Kirchner had in his study 
a fine terrestrial globe. A friend who pretended 
not to believe in the existence of God called on 
Kirchner, and, admiring the globe, asked who was 
the maker. Looking at the man earnestly, Kirch- 
ner replied: " It made itself." At this answer his 
friend became angry; whereupon, laying his hand 
on the man's shoulder, Kirchner said : " You refuse 
to believe this, and yet you claim that the great 
sphere it represents made itself, and knows no Cre- 
ator who called it into existence and harmonized 
all its parts." And so his friend was forced to ad- 
mit that it was most unreasonable on his part to 
disbelieve. 



Qualities or Properties of Faith. 67 



Qualities or Properties of Faith* 

A true faith must be universal, steadfast, and 
living. 

1. We must believe all that God has revealed and 
the Catholic Church believes and teaches. To be- 
lieve only partially in Him who is all truth is the 
same as not to believe at all. For if we believe 
one truth and reject another, we believe not be- 
cause God is truth, but because it pleases us so to 
believe. " He that believeth not shall be con- 
demned" (St. Mark xvi. 16). "Whoever does not 
maintain the Catholic faith entire and unchanged, 
will without doubt go to everlasting ruin" (St. 
Athanasius). 

2. A firm, unshaken, steadfast faith or belief is 
only a natural result of the very nature of faith. 
To better understand this we must remember that 
there are many sources of evidence ; that is to say, 
many grounds by which we can become convinced 
of the truth of a thing. These may be drawn from 
the realms of nature, and are then called natural 
grounds of belief; or they may be founded above 
the sphere of nature, and are therefore called super- 
natural proofs or grounds. 

The natural sources of belief are : The testimony 
of other persons; the testimony of our senses; the 
testimony of our reason. 



68 The First Commandment of God. 

We are convinced of a thing on supernatural 
grounds when we hold to be true whatever God 
says and because He says it, or when God permits 
us to see a truth in His light, as is the case with 
the blessed in heaven. 

Now, while our fellow-men, our senses, and our 
reason may deceive us, if we hold a thing to be true, 
relying on the testimony of God, we cannot fail, for 
God is eternal and infallible truth, who can neither 
deceive nor be deceived. 

When the word of the Lord went forth unto 
Abraham, "Go into a foreign land which I shall 
show thee," Abraham did not ask, " In what land, 
O Lord? Who will protect me? How shall I 
subsist?" He went in obedience and faith, and 
the Lord rewarded him accordingly. 

Example. 

During the French Revolution, when the popu- 
lace, hounded on by the bloodthirsty Jacobins, mur- 
dered every priest who fell into their hands, a young 
priest, fleeing for his life, was captured at Autun. 
The mayor of the place, wishing to save the young 
man's life, asked his permission to declare to the 
populace that he had taken the oath to obey the 
State in all things. " No," replied the priest; " the 
same God who forbids me to take the oath forbids 
me to practise deception by letting these people 
think that I have signed it." Rather than pre- 






Qualities or Properties of Faith. 69 

tend even to deny his faith he died a martyr's 
death. 

3. It is easy to say: "Lord, I believe; Lord, I 
doubt nothing." But we must also make our faith 
a living one by doing good and avoiding evil, as 
the law prescribes. Good works infuse life into 
faith. " As the body without the spirit is dead, so 
also faith without works is dead" (St. James ii. 26). 
Christian life is a tree whose vital roots are planted 
in faith. But if the tree bear no fruit it will be cut 
down, for it is of no use, be it ever so fair. Now 
the blossoms and fruits on the tree of Christian life 
are our works. It is therefore a soul-destroying 
error to deny the necessity of good works. "By 
their fruits you shall know them" (St. Matt. vii. 
20). "What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man 
say he hath faith, but hath not works?" (St. James 
ii. 14). 

Example. 

The first congregation of Christians consisted of 
the three thousand persons who were converted by 
the Apostle Peter at Jerusalem on Pentecost Sun- 
day. These people listened to the instructions of 
the apostles, prayed together in the temple, and 
celebrated the holy mysteries in their dwellings. 
They joined their property together and sold their 
goods, in order to divide the price in common 
among one another. This simplicity they main- 
tained unchanged all through three hundred years, 



jo Hie First Commandment of God. 

mindful of the admonition of the holy Apostle St. 
John, who in the later days of his life had himself 
carried every day into the church, where, from his 
chair, he addressed the faithful, urging them to love 
one another. Those of the people who were una- 
ble, from want of education, to present the truths 
of religion with reason and argument or to make 
discourses, performed good works. They never lost 
sight of the presence of God: they prayed while 
ploughing the fields, while navigating the seas and 
rivers — in short, at all times and places. Submis- 
sion to the will of God was the leading principle of 
their lives. How lively was their faith may be in- 
ferred from the words of Tertullian when defending 
them before the pagan judges: "I appeal for evi- 
dence to your court records, and refer you to your 
own experience in judging cases. Is there a judg- 
ment recorded against any one of us? Innocence 
of life is a necessity for us, for we have learned it 
from God, who is a perfect Lord and Master. Peo- 
ple object to us that we are useless in every-day 
life. Yet we frequent your fairs and markets, your 
stores, baths, hotels, and other places of business. 
We transact business, bear arms, and till the soil. 
True it is that evil persons cannot make use 
of us." 



Sources of Faith. 7 1 

Sources of Faith* 

Holy Scripture. 

As has already been said, the teachings of Jesus 
Christ have been written out, in part, by the apos- 
tles, and these writings compose the Scriptures of 
the New Testament. 

Holy Scripture, or the Bible, is divided into two 
parts, called the Old Testament and the New Tes- 
tament. 

The books of the Old Testament contain those 
revelations made by God to man from the creation 
of the world till the time of Christ. These were 
made chiefly through the patriarchs and prophets, 
who in turn declared them to the people in word 
or writing. They are divided into historical, de- 
votional, and prophetic books. 

The historical books, twenty-one in number, are: 
The five books of Moses; the books of Josue, 
Judges, and Ruth; the four books of Kings; the 
two books of Chronicles, or Paralipomenon ; the 
books of Esdras, Nehemias, Tobias, Judith, and 
Esther; and the two books of Machabees. The de- 
votional books are the book of Job; the Psalms; 
Proverbs; Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher; the Can- 
ticle of Canticles; the book of Wisdom; and Si- 
rach, or Ecclesiasticus. The seventeen prophetic 
books are composed chiefly of prophecies concern- 



72 The First Commandment of God. 

ing the future history of the Jewish people and the 
coming Messias, Jesus Christ. The prophets are 
Isaias, Jeremias, Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, Osee, 
Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, 
Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, and Mal- 
achias. 

The New Testament contains the divine revela- 
tions as given to us by Jesus Christ Himself. The 
New Testament is made up of the four Gospels of 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ; the Acts of the 
Apostles ; the twenty-one Apostolic Epistles, four- 
teen of them by St. Paul, one by St. James, two by 
St. Peter, three by St. John, and one by Judas 
Thaddeus; and the Apocalypse, or Revelations. 

The Bible is the treasure-house of our faith and 
the armory of our holy Church. The Fathers and 
teachers of the Church have likened it to a letter 
addressed to mankind by our loving and merciful 
Father in heaven; and St. Augustine says of it: 
"From that celestial city out of which we have 
been withheld till now, has come a letter, telling 
what God in His love has done for us, and teach- 
ing us what we out of love should do for Him." 

Whoever would read the Sacred Scriptures for 
his own instruction and edification must be careful 
to obtain a correct translation, approved by the 
local Catholic authorities, a translation accom- 
panied by notes explaining the difficult passages, 
for in the Bible there are many things "hard to be 



Sources of Faith. 73 

understood," as St. Peter says, " and which the un- 
learned and the unstable wrest to their own de- 
struction" (2 St. Peter iii. 16). Such precautions 
being taken, the Scriptures may be read with safety 
and with profit. The Church cannot tolerate the 
doctrine that each one of us may draw and arrange 
his faith for himself, for that is not only opposed 
to the plain letter of the Holy Scriptures itself, but 
also to the unity of the belief, and therefore sullies 
and distorts the purity of Christ's doctrines. 

Tradition. 

Tradition embraces all those teachings concern- 
ing faith and morals imparted by Christ Himself 
or by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to the apos- 
tles, and which were preached orally, although not 
committed to writing. 

Our Lord did not put His teachings into a writ- 
ten form, nor did He order the apostles to do so. 
He went about preaching and teaching (St. Matt, 
iv. 23). To His apostles He simply said: "Go ye 
into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every 
creature. Teach all nations. And they going 
forth preached everywhere, the Lord working 
withal, and confirming the word with signs that 
followed" (St. Mark xvi. 20). It was preaching, 
therefore — that is, the verbal expounding of doc- 
trine —which, in conformity to the will of God, was 
to be the foundation for faith, and not simply writ- 



^4 The First Commandment of God. 

ten forms. " There are many other things which 
Jesus did, which if they were written every one, 
the world itself, I think, would not be able to con- 
tain the books that should be written" (St. John 
xxi. 25). 

The assumption that the Holy Scripture is the 
only rule of faith from which every man must draw 
his belief involves and produces absurd conse- 
quences. For instance, what is to become of those 
persons who cannot procure a copy of the Bible? — 
and there were millions of such persons before the 
invention of printing, a modern art. The recogni- 
tion of tradition as a source of belief, combined 
with the written word, is as ancient as the Church 
itself. " It is certain that the apostles in their 
writings omitted many things which they handed 
down unwritten and orally; these, too, we are 
bound to believe" (St. Chrysostom). 

The Apostles' Creed. 

Having learned the necessary qualities of faith, 
let us consider the things and truths which the 
Catholic Church has to believe. These may be 
summed up in their briefest form in the words : " I 
believe in God the Father, in God the Son, and in 
God the Holy Ghost. Amen." For belief in 
these three divine Persons embraces and includes 
within itself belief in the revelations, teachings, 



The Apostles" Creed. 75 

and doings of these three divine Persons. The 
chief mysteries, those which compose the subject- 
matter of Christian faith, are set forth in the twelve 
articles of the Apostles' Creed, or profession of 
faith, which is nothing other than a development of 
the above-named form. 

This formula of faith is termed a creed or sym- 
bol ; that is to say, a distinguishing code or sign, 
by which Christians are known as such to them- 
selves, to one another, and to those who do not be- 
lieve. It is an acknowledgment or a solemn com- 
pact which they utter, and whereby they obligate 
themselves to a practical profession of their belief. 
This apostolic symbol is therefore the sworn cov- 
enant of the Christians, by which they recognize 
one another, and which compels them as Christian 
soldiers to strive bravely under the banner of the 
Cross for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, as the sol- 
dier of the world strives under the banner or ensign 
that animates and impels him to struggle and die 
for his country. 

This formula of faith is a plain and simple sign 
or mark, by which Christians are distinguished 
from non- Christians who profess either no creed at 
all or else a false and defective one. This formula 
of belief is called the " Apostles' Creed," because 
it is highly probable that the apostles themselves 
compiled it. 

Rufinus, a Church historian of the fourth cen- 



y6 The First Commandment of God. 

tury, informs us that the apostles, after the descent 
of the Holy Ghost, when they were about to dis- 
perse to preach the gospel throughout the world, 
compiled and adopted this formula or creed in or- 
der to have a fixed and uniform foundation on 
which to base their teachings. A legend relates 
that each apostle made an article, St. Peter making 
the first, "I believe in God"; St. Andrew, the sec- 
ond; St. James the Greater, the third; St. John, the 
fourth ; St. Thomas, the fifth ; St. James the Less, 
the sixth; St. Philip, the seventh; St. Bartholo- 
mew, the eighth; St. Matthew, the ninth; St. Si- 
mon, the tenth; St. Thaddeus, the eleventh; and 
St. Matthias, the twelfth and last. 

The place is still shown at Jerusalem where this 
Creed was composed. It is a kind of recess in 
the form of a cave, about twenty paces long, its 
roof consisting of twelve arcades in honor of the 
twelve apostles. 

The different portions of the Apostles' Creed are 
termed articles; that is to say, members, for of 
such members is the body of the Creed composed. 
And as the human body when deprived of any one 
of its members is seriously disturbed and disabled, 
so is the whole body of the faith paralyzed when 
even one article is denied. The name Creed is de- 
rived from the first word of the formula, Credo, 
which is Latin for "I believe." 

It is not enough for us merely to repeat the 



The Apostles' Creed. 77 

Apostles' Creed with our lips, without adverting to 
its senses word after word, or at least article by 
article. We ought to repeat it with attention and 
reflection every day, if possible; and to whom is 
it impossible if there be an earnest will? We can 
kneel down, place ourselves in the presence of 
God, and go over the Creed article after article, 
meditating carefully on each one. Thus, for ex- 
ample, we say : " I believe in God the Father." 
Then we ask ourselves: Have I believed firmly, 
under all circumstances? Have I always avoided 
whatever might rob me of my belief or weaken it, 
such company, such reading, such thoughts? Have 
I prayed constantly for the grace of faith ? Have I 
thanked God because I believe in Him? Then 
we may dwell on the word God. Who is He and 
who am I? He is my Father: Father to my body, 
Father to my soul. Am I an obedient child? Am 
I a good father to my children ? Do I give to them 
and to others under me good example both in word 
and works? Then we may make our resolutions 
and draw our conclusions, and then proceed to the 
next point. 

Whoever will thus meditate on the Creed will 
reap a harvest of faith and other virtues. 



78 The First Commandment of God. 

Sins Against Faith* 
Idolatry. 

This sin above all is forbidden by the first com- 
mandment. It is committed by the heathen, who 
change the glory of the incorruptible God into the 
likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of 
birds and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping 
things (Rom. i. 23). Those who have fallen into 
this fatal erroi are called idolaters, and their 
images, idols. But men also have been taken for 
gods, and have had divine honors paid to them, as, 
for instance, Herod, of whom the Acts of the Apos- 
tles speak. When the ambassadors of the Tyrians 
and Sidonians came to him, he wanted to parade 
his glory before them, and upon a day appointed, 
being arrayed in kingly apparel, he sat in the judg- 
ment seat, and made an oration to them. And the 
people made acclamation, saying : " It is the voice of 
a god, and not of a man." Herod countenanced all 
this, and accepted the homage. "And forthwith 
an angel of the Lord struck him, because he had 
not given the honor to God: and being eaten 
up by worms, he gave up the ghost" (Acts xii. 

21-23). 

The Jews, who were surrounded by heathen na- 
tions, constantly fell into idolatry. Very shortly 
after they had received the Ten Commandments, 



Sins Against Faith. 79 

when Moses was still with God in the mount, and 
they thought he had left them and would not return, 
they asked Aaron to make gods for them who would 
precede them. Aaron was weak enough to give in to 
them, and made a golden calf, and allowed them to 
sacrifice to it (Exod. xxxii. 1-6) , And although they 
were severely punished, for the Levites killed 23,000 
of them, the Israelites frequently relapsed into 
idolatry. The law commanded that not only those 
were to be put to death who sacrificed to idols, 
but also those who led others into idolatry (Deut. 
xiii. 10). 

This is idolatry in its gross form. But there is 
another refined form of idolatry, of which we have 
spoken when treating of the love of God (p. 26). 

As this gross idolatry is a complete estrangement 
from God, its necessary consequence is lapse into 
sin and vice and all the passions of natural man 
unaided by grace. 

Thus the Apostle Peter says of the heathen: 
"They have walked in riotousness, lusts, excess of 
wine, revellings, banquetings, and unlawful wor- 
shipping of idols" (1 St. Peter iv. 3). 

Unbelief. 

Unbelief is the absence of faith. If this is not 
caused by our own fault, as with those who are not 
born in the Church and have never heard of the true 



80 The First Commandment of God, 

faith, it is a misfortune. But if anybody falls into 
unbelief through his own fault, he incurs eternal 
damnation. " He that doth not believe is already 
judged" (St. John iii. 18). 

Heresy. 

A heretic is a man who believes differently from 
what the Church teaches. Here, as well, there is 
culpable and non-culpable heresy. Heresy, when 
not wilful, is no sin as long as there exists the good 
will of accepting the known truth. Very different 
is culpable error or wilful heresy, which rests on 
two things: error of the intellect, and stubbornness 
of the will. With heretics of this class we may not 
have any intercourse, according to the words of the 
apostle: "A man that is a heretic, after the first 
and second admonition, avoid" (Tit. iii. 10). 

Indifference in Matters of Faith. 

Of this sin all those persons are guilty who 
think that all religions are equally good, and only 
differ in matters of no consequence ; moreover, all 
those Catholic Christians who contract mixed mar- 
riages and allow their children to be brought up 
in a false religion. The same kind of sin is 
committed by those who take part in non -Catholic 
services. 



Sins Against Faith. 81 



Loss of Faith. 



It is easy to fall into unbelief, heresy, and indiffer- 
ence if we do not constantly endeavor to cultivate 
the precious gift of faith within us, and instantly 
ask God for it. Furthermore, we incur this danger 
when we entertain wilful doubts against faith, 
when we raise such doubts in ourselves, and, in- 
stead of asking our pastor or confessor to instruct 
us, and humbly submitting to the Church, we brood 
over them, and foster them within us, and communi- 
cate them to others. 

Sins against faith are also caused by the perusal 
of books which contain a different doctrine from 
that of the Catholic Church, or attack the Catholic 
religion, its doctrines, precepts, customs, practices, 
etc. A Catholic Christian may not only not read 
these kinds of books, but is bound to destroy them. 
If he lends them to others, he commits grievous sin 
as many times as he lends them, or as others get 
these books into their hands through his fault and 
read them. The same holds good of magazines 
and newspapers. 

It is the duty of a Catholic Christian to avoid 
not only heretics, but also those Catholics who hold 
discourses and conversation contrary to our faith, 
although they may allege that they are Catholics. 
With such men we must not have any intercourse, 
6 



82 The First Commandment of God. 

but rather consider the word of the apostle ; " Mark 
them who cause dissensions and offences contrary 
to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid 
them" (Rom. xvi. 17). 

If a man do not guard the precious gift of faith, 
it is gradually weakened in him, till the result is 
inward loss of faith, and in the end also exterior 
falling away from the faith— apostasy. 

Examples, 

When the Church not only prohibits the reading of 
bad and anti-Catholic books and writings, but makes 
it a duty for us to destroy them, she does no more 
than was enjoined on the early Christians. When 
St. Paul preached at Ephesus, many of them who 
had followed curious arts brought together their 
books and burnt them before all; and counting 
fhe price of them they found the money to be 50,000 
pieces of silver, i.e., about $7,900 (Acts xix. 19). 
The faithful were strictly forbidden to read pagan 
books, as we see from the Apostolic Constitutions. 
In the First General Council of Nicea the writings of 
the hereisarch Arius were condemned, and the Em- 
peror Constantine caused all of them to be burnt, 
and threatened everybody with death who would 
not give them up. In the Council of Ephesus the 
Fathers petitioned the Emperor Theodosius that he 
would cause the writings of Nestorius to be con- 
signed to the flames. Pope Leo I. burnt with his 



Sins Against Faith. 83 

own hands the Manichean books at Rome, and 
wrote to the bishops enjoining them to do the same. 

Superstition. 

Superstition is another sin against faith. The 
gravity of this sin depends on the amount of knowl- 
edge which the superstitious person possesses, and 
on the more or less criminal end he wishes to at- 
tain. The most sinful form of superstition is 
witchcraft, which consists in invoking the help of 
the devil or some evil spirit in order to gain riches 
by digging for treasures, or to learn hidden things, 
or to do harm to any one. There have been per- 
sons who made a covenant with the devil, and 
gave themselves up to him, whether they really 
held intercourse with the Evil One or only had 
the intention of doing so, and who invoked his aid 
in order to obtain worldly goods. 

There are also people who believe that their 
children or their cattle can be bewitched; that 
there are men who by an "evil eye" can harm our 
bodies. Those try to expel the witches by other 
superstitious remedies. Then there arises false 
suspicion, and the most hideous crimes are com- 
mitted when people think they have found the 
witch. This mania was rife in Germany, especially, 
200 years ago, and more so in the Protestant than 
in the Catholic states. Thousands of men, women, 



84 The First Commandment of God. 

girls, and even children were accused of having 
caused misfortunes, for instance, hail-storms, dis- 
eases, cattle-plagues, bad seasons, etc. Confessions 
were extorted from them by the most horrible tor- 
tures, and afterwards they were given up to a most 
painful death, generally by burning. This deplor- 
able superstition has not quite died out yet among 
the people. Poor old women, especially, are often 
suspected of being witches and made to suffer for 
it. This is a sinful folly. Holy Church furnishes 
the Christian with the arms with which he can 
combat witchcraft, incantation, and all influence of 
the Evil One. They are the sign of the cross, 
holy water, and blessed objects. Let the faith- 
ful, therefore, commend themselves, their bodies and 
their goods, to the protection of God and be in 
peace. 

In modern times there has spread, especially 
among the higher classes of society, a new form of 
superstition, which we find already in the Old 
Testament visited with severe punishments. It 
consists in consulting the spirits of the dead in 
order to obtain news or any other kind of informa- 
tion from them. The persons who carry on such 
nonsense, as a rule, belong to a class who do not 
believe in anything supernatural, or in any mystery 
of religion,— in fact, have no religion at all. Of 
these the saying is true: "The most unbelieving 
are the most credulous." 



Sins Against Faith. 85 



Fortune-Telling and Interpretation of 
Dreams. 

God in His great wisdom has hidden coming 
events from us and has left us in uncertainty as to 
our future fate. He does not wish us to be cast 
down by impending misfortunes, or elated by an- 
ticipated success, We are to leave our life in the 
hands of God and work out our salvation. There- 
fore we sin against God by trying to lift the veil 
which covers the future, or by prying into things 
which God has thought good to hide from us. This 
is chiefly done by fortune-telling and interpreta- 
tion of dreams. He who without having received a 
divine revelation takes upon himself to tell things 
which cannot be known according to the natural 
order, or attempts to inquire into those things, has 
his fortune told, or his dreams interpreted, and 
seriously believes in all this, sins grievously, and 
fortune-tellers and interpreters of dreams doubly so 
if they practise their craft for mercenary purposes. 
Fortune-tellers pretend to gather their knowledge 
from the lines in the palm of the hand, as we find 
gypsies doing. Others pour melted lead into water 
and interpret the shapes it assumes; others again 
read the future in tea-leaves ; one of the most com- 
mon methods of finding out things which we are 
anxious to know is by cutting cards. All these 



86 The First Commandment of God. 

things and others of the same class are opposed to 
the virtue of faith. Also 

Vain Observance, 

or the idle custom of expecting help from things 
which neither by the will of God, nor by their 
natural power, nor through the prayers of the 
Church can help us. Thus, for instance, supersti- 
tious people fancy they can prophesy good or bad 
fortune from the cry of birds, the howling of dogs, 
the call of the cuckoo, the falling out of teeth, 
and other natural phenomena. Others claim that 
they have made themselves proof against blows, 
thrusts, and bullets. Or they use certain remedies 
against diseases — for instance, the wearing of papers 
on which certain words or ciphers are written ; or 
they suggest the use of natural remedies accom- 
panied by extraordinary proceedings — for instance, 
throwing a remedy over one's shoulder into a stream 
at a certain phase of the moon in order to get rid 
of a fever or some other illness, and numberless 
follies of the same kind. This kind of cure they 
call " cure by sympathy." 

There is an innocent kind of " sympathetic cure" 
in which neither anything forbidden nor foolish 
is employed. If we wish to try such a cure, we 
must formally protest to ourselves that we do not 
wish to obtain anything contrary to the will of God. 

It is likewise sinful to believe in lucky or un- 



Sins Against Faith. 87 

lucky days, and to model our conduct accordingly. 
So, for instance, Friday is supposed to be an un- 
lucky day, in which one is not to do anything of 
importance. And yet Friday is the most blessed 
day of all, for it is the day of our Redemption. It 
is true that on Good Friday we are not to do any- 
thing contrary to the spirit of the Church, which 
recommends us to dwell on that day with special 
devotion on the bitter passion and death of Jesus 
Christ. 

Superstitious Prayers. 

There are also superstitious, and therefore sinful, 
prayers and books— for instance, such in which we 
are assured for certain that, as often as we recite 
them, a poor soul is set free, or that we are preserved 
from certain diseases, or that we cannot be lost if 
we say them every day. The prayers or the books 
in which these prayers are contained ought to be 
given to a priest or destroyed. On the contrary, it 
is not sinful, but rather praiseworthy, to wear ob- 
jects blessed by the Church, especially scapulars 
and medals of Our Lady. For we do not ascribe 
any power to them, but by wearing them we place 
ourselves under the protection of our blessed Lady, 
whom we wish to honor, and in whose intercession 
we hope and trust. 

Holy Scripture speaks in these words of the 
different forms of superstition: 



88 The First Commandment of God. 

" Neither let there be found among you any one 
that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams 
and omens, neither let there be any wizard, or any 
one that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the 
Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these 
abominations He will destroy them" (Deut. xviii. 
10-12). 

" Learn not according to the ways of the Gen- 
tiles: and be not afraid of the signs of heaven, 
which the heathens fear" (Jer. x. 2). 

" The hopes of a man that is void of understand- 
ing are vain and deceitful: and dreams lift up 
fools. The man that giveth heed to lying visions 
is like to him that catcheth at a shadow, and fol- 
loweth after the wind. Deceitful visions and lying 
omens and the dreams of evil-doers are vanity. 
For dreams have deceived many, and they have 
failed that put their trust in them" (Ecclus. xxxiv. 
*> 2, 5, 7). 

" Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live" (Exod. 
xx. 18). 

" Sorcerers shall have their portion in the pool 
burning with fire and brimstone, which is the 
second death" (Apoc. xxi. 8). 

Warning Examples. 

King Saul had fallen away from the Lord, and 
God had withdrawn His grace from him. When 
he was going to war with the Philistines, this once 



Sins Against Faith. 89 

courageous warrior was filled with fear, and went 
to Endor to an old woman who had the reputation 
of being able to conjure up the spirits of the dead. 
Of this woman Saul begged that she would call up 
the Prophet Samuel, in order that he might inquire 
of him. But when the woman began her foolery, 
God raised up the spirit of Samuel in reality, and 
he declared the will of God to Saul for his punish- 
ment, and foretold him that he should be defeated 
in the battle against the Philistines, and lose his 
life, and that the kingdom should be given to David 
(1 Kings xxviii. 16-19). After the death of Solo- 
mon ten tribes rebelled against his son, and God 
gave them Jeroboam for a king. But he did not 
walk before the Lord, and led his subjects also into 
idolatry. In order to deter them from going up to 
the Temple at Jerusalem, as it was commanded, he 
set up two golden calves, one at Dan and one at 
Bethel, on the confines of his country, and said : 
" Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out 
of the land of Egypt'* (3 Kings xii. 28). And the 
people went to adore. But the Lord sent word to 
him through the Prophet Ahias : " Because thou 
hast made thee strange gods and molten gods, to 
provoke Me to anger, and hast cast Me behind thy 
back: therefore, behold I will bring evils upon the 
house of Jeroboam . , . and I will sweep away the 
remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept 
away till all be clean" (3 Kings xiv. 9, 10). And 



90 The First Commandment of God. 

the Lord did as He had threatened. Jeroboam 
was defeated by Abias, king of Juda, in a bloody 
battle. There fell wounded of Israel five hundred 
thousand valiant men, and Jeroboam lost many 
cities, which he never recovered (2 Par. xiii. 17). 
Ochozias, king of Israel, was grievously sick and 
sent to Accaron to consult the god Beelzebub on 
the issue of his sickness. But God sent Elias to 
meet the messengers and to say to them : '' Is there 
not a God in Israel, that ye go to consult Beelzebub, 
the god of Accaron ? . . . Go and return to the king 
that sent you, and you shall say to him : . . . Thou 
shalt not come down from the bed on which thou 
art gone up, but thou shalt surely die" (4 Kings i. 
2-6). When St. Paul preached Jesus Crucified to 
the proconsul Sergius, Elymas the magician tried 
to turn away the procon ul from the faith. But 
Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, looking upon him, 
said: " O full of all guile and of all deceit, child 
of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceasest not 
to pervert the right ways of the Lord. And now 
behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and 
thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a 
time. And immediately there fell a mist and 
darkness upon him [Elymas], and going about, 
he sought some one to lead him by the hand" (Acts 
xiii. 10, 11). 

Thus God punishes all who do not put their trust 
in Him, and rebel against His commandments. 



Sins Against Faith. 91 



Sacrilege. 

Sacrilege is the profanation of objects or places 
dedicated to God, or ill-usage of the persons conse- 
crated to God. Such sacred things are: Chalices, 
monstrances, and all vessels dedicated to the 
service of the Church, as, for instance, crucifixes, 
images and statues of saints, and especially their 
relics. By holy places we mean churches, chap- 
els, cemeteries. Consecrated persons are those 
who have received Holy Orders, or have dedicated 
themselves by special vows to the service of God, 
such as priests, monks, and nuns. 
Therefore all those sin grievously: 
i. Who receive the sacraments unworthily; 

2. Who profane holy communion, the holy 
cross, the relics of the saints, their images or 
statues , 

3. Who commit a sin of impurity with a person 
consecrated to God, 

4. Who defile blessed objects and consecrated 
vessels, or use them for profane purposes; 

5. Who purloin or steal objects destined for the 
service of God, and more especially those who con- 
fiscate Church property, or alienate pious founda- 
tions from their original purpose; 

6. Who buy ecclesiastical lands and buildings 
which have been unjustly taken from the Church; 



92 The First Commandment of God. 

7. Who buy and sell relics for mercenary pur- 
poses, or circulate false ones; 

8. Who pay money or offer other bribes in order 
to intrude themselves into ecclesiastical offices and 
dignities, for instance, to obtain a living. This 
sin is called simony, because Simon Magus offered 
money to St. Peter in order to obtain the power of 
bestowing the Holy Ghost (Acts viii. 19); 

9. Who pervert the words of Holy Scripture, or 
use them mockingly and flippantly; 

10. Who mimic ecclesiastical functions or eccle- 
siastical persons, or sing parodies to the airs of 
Church hymns; 

11. Churches and churchyards are desecrated by 
the commission of acts of impurity, murder, or 
bloodshed; moreover, by the burying of a heathen, 
a Jew, an infidel, or a person who has been ex- 
communicated by the sentence of ecclesiastical 
authority ; 

12. Who ill-use consecrated persons, i.e., eccle- 
siastics, clerics, or religious. 

Warning Exatnptes. 

Baltassar, king of Babylon, once made a great 
feast to which the nobles of his empire were in- 
vited, and they all drank very freely. The king 
himself, when he was intoxicated, commanded that 
they should bring the vessels of gold and silver 



Sins Against Faith. 93 

which Nabuchodonosor, his father, had brought 
away out of the Temple. Then were the golden and 
silver vessels brought, and the king and his nobles 
and his wives drank in them. In the same night 
he fell into the hands of his enemies and was 
slain (Dan. v.). Heliodorus, treasurer of Seleucus, 
king of Syria, had received a commission from his 
master to go to Jerusalem and seize the rich treas- 
ure of the Temple. He went, therefore, himself 
with his guard to the treasury. But the spirit of 
the Almighty God gave a great evidence of His 
presence, so that all that had presumed to obey 
him, falling down by the power of God, were struck 
with fainting and dread. For there appeared to 
them a horse with a terrible rider upon him, adorned 
with a very rich covering : and he ran fiercely and 
struck Heliodorus with his fore-feet, and he that sat 
upon him seemed to have armor of gold. More- 
over, there appeared two other young men, beautiful 
and strong, bright and glorious, and in comely 
apparel, who stood by him on either side, and 
scourged him without ceasing with many stripes. 
And Heliodorus suddenly fell to the ground, and 
they took him up covered with great darkness, and 
having put him into a litter, they carried him out. 
So he that came with many servants, and all his 
guards into the aforesaid treasury, was carried out, 
no one being able to help him, the manifest power 
of God being known. And he, indeed, by the power 



94 The First Commandment of God. 

of God, lay speechless, and without all hope of 
recovery (2 Mach. iii. 24-29). 

The Lord decreed a dreadful punishment over 
Jerusalem through the mouth of the Prophet Eze- 
chiel: "Because thou hast violated My sanctuary 
with all thy offences and with all thy abominations, 
My eye shall not spare, and I will not have any 
pity. A third part of thee shall die with the pesti- 
lence, and shall be consumed with famine in the 
midst of thee: and a third part of thee shall fall by 
the sword round about thee : and a third part of thee 
will I scatter in every wind, and I will draw out 
a sword after them" (Ezech. v. it, 12). We know 
in what awful manner this threat was fulfilled in 
the subsequent history of the Jews. Our Lord 
Himself in holy anger made a scourge of cords and 
drove the buyers and sellers with it from the court 
of the Temple (St. Matt. xxi. 12). 

Exterior Worship* 

As we have already observed, interior worship 
leads to exterior worship. In the same way as faith 
in God is, so to speak, inborn in man, the tendency 
of showing exterior worship is implanted in his 
soul. 

1. Our bodies as well as our souls belong to the 
Lord, and are created for His service, and this 



Exterior Worship. 95 

entails the duty of external worship. It is only 
just and fair that we should not merely adore God 
in our soul, but that we should also glorify Him 
in our body. Therefore the Apostle exhorts us: 
" Know you not that your members are the temple 
of the Holy Ghost? Glorify and bear God in your 
body" (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20). 

We worship God externally when we join our 
hands in praying; when we kneel down at our 
prayers, or show our reverence to the Most Holy 
Sacrament; when we bend our head in pronoun- 
cing the name of Jesus — in short, as often as we ex- 
press by any outward sign, gesture, or movement of 
our body, etc., the feeling of reverence which we bear 
in our heart. 

2. Certain modes of exterior worship have been 
enjoined upon us by the commandments, viz., by 
the third commandment of the Decalogue : "Re- 
member that thou keep holy the Sabbath day," and 
by the commandments of the Church, which decree 
at what times, in which places, and by what exer- 
cises God is to be specially honored. 

There are people who deny the necessity of such 
exterior worship, and, in support of their opinions, 
they quote the discourse of Jesus Christ with the 
Samaritan woman by Jacob's well, in which He 
predicted that a time should come when people 
would adore neither in Jerusalem nor in Mount 



96 The First Commandment of God. 

Garizim, which prophecy was afterwards fulfilled, 
for both temples, the one at Garizim as well as the 
one at Jerusalem, were destroyed- But when Our 
Saviour adds, " The hour cometh and now is, when 
the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit 
and in truth; for the Father also seeketh such to 
adore Him" (St. John iv. 23), His words do not 
condemn exterior worship, but He pronounces it 
to be of no value unless it proceed from a right 
spirit. 

God Himself gave to the Jews the minutest in- 
structions as to their religious worship, and He 
Himself fulfilled the precepts of the law by go- 
ing at the appointed time to Jerusalem for the 
feast, and by eating the Paschal lamb with His 
disciples according to the law, before He suf- 
fered. 

3. We must consider well that a recollected out- 
ward demeanor at our prayers is the best help 
towards that devotion with which we are to wor- 
ship God inwardly. When we kneel down in say- 
ing our prayers, and humbly cast down our eyes, 
join our hands, and beat our breast, we arouse in 
ourselves those pious dispositions from which prayer 
draws its real value. This conduct, moreover, serves 
for the edification of our neighbor, and invites him, 
as it were, likewise to renounce all worldly thoughts 
and to turn to God. Such a good example is a 
good work at the same time. 



Exterior, Worship. 97 

Application. 

1. The best kind of exterior worship is a pious 
and upright life which faithfully observes the com- 
mandments of God and of His Church, and thus 
shows outwardly what faith and the grace of God 
have wrought in the interior man. By devotions at 
home, by the diligent reception of the sacraments, 
by zealously frequenting the services of the Church, 
we let others see that we put our trust in God. 

2. But we must, moreover, strive to propagate 
the knowledge and worship of God among our 
fellow-men. Besides giving good example, we can 
do this chiefly by kind instructions and pious, 
edifying conversations, by which we circumvent the 
Evil One and further the honor of God. " Whether 
you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all 
to the glory of God" (1 Cor. x. 31), 

Examples. 

One day when Moses kept the flocks of Jethro, 
his father-in-law, "the Lord appeared to him in a 
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush : and he saw 
that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt. And 
when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, He 
called to him out of the midst of the bush and 
said : Moses, Moses. And he answered : Here I 
am. And He said: Come not nigh hither, put off 
the shoes from thy feet : for the place whereon thou 
7 



98 The First Commandment of God. 

standest is holy ground" (Exod. iii. 2, 4-5). Thus 
God Himself required of Moses exterior .marks of 
reverence. David invited the children of Israel to 
give praise and thanks to the Lord, saying : " Come, 
let us adore and fall down" (Ps. xliv. 6), When 
Solomon dedicated the Temple he had built, he 
stood upon a brazen scaffold : then kneeling down in 
the presence of all the multitude of Israel, and lift- 
ing up his hands towards heaven, he implored God 
that He would hear all those who should pray in 
the Temple (2 Par. vi. 13). Even in heaven ex- 
terior worship is offered to God. St. John saw the 
Lord sitting upon a throne and before Him four 
living creatures, and round about the throne four- 
and-twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white gar- 
ments, and on their heads were crowns of gold. 
And when those living creatures gave glory and 
honor and benediction to Him that sitteth on the 
throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four-and- 
twenty ancients fell down before Him that sitteth 
on the throne, and adored Him that liveth forever 
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne 
(Apoc. iv. 9, 10). 

Hope* 

Together with faith, God gives us the virtue of 
hope, which the Holy Ghost likewise infuses into 
our soul in Baptism. It is therefore a supernatural 
gift which enables us to hope. Through this virtue 



Hope. 99 

we desire and expect eternal salvation, and all that 
is necessary for obtaining it: pardon of our sins, 
and divine grace, the means of obtaining eternal 
life. 

i. The exercise of hope presupposes the exist- 
ence of faith. We cannot hope for or expect any- 
thing divine and supernatural without having ap- 
prehended it by faith. He who does not believe 
cannot hope. " Faith is the substance of things to 
be hoped for" (Heb. xi. i). 

2. The essence of hope is desire and confi- 
dence. We desire something in our prayers, and 
then we trust that God will grant our desires. We 
may expect this not only because God is infinitely 
good and merciful, but also because He Himself 
has taught us to pray and has promised to hear 
our prayers. We know that God keeps His prom- 
ises: He is faithful. "Let us hold fast the confes- 
sion of our hope without wavering (for He is faith- 
ful that hath promised)" (Heb. x. 23). 

3. We may hope for the pardon of our sins, 
however great they may be, provided that we are 
truly sorry for them, and resolved to do penance 
as far as lies in our power. We must never give up 
hope, for Jesus Christ intercedes for us with the 
Father. " He is able to save forever them that 
come to God by Him, always living to make inter- 
cession for us" (Heb. vii. 25). 

4. God gives us the means necessary for gaining 



ioo The First Commandment of God. 

eternal salvation. He bestows grace on us, that 
we may resist evil and accomplish good. It is 
true that many a thing seems hard to us, but God 
gives us His own strength, so that we can say with 
St Paul: "I can do all things in Him who 
strengthened! me" (Phil. iv. 13). " God is faithful, 
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that 
which you are able: but will also make with 
temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it" 
(1 Cor. x. 13). 

5. Although we may firmly hope and trust that 
God forgives us our sins if we sincerely repent of 
them, this hope must be accompanied by fear. But 
we must not fear that God may not have pardoned 
our sins, but rather that we may not have done our 
part to earn this pardon. This fear ought to keep 
us always watchful, and preserve us from false 
security. 

Therefore the Apostle admonishes us in these 
words : " With fear and trembling work out your 
salvation" (Phil. ii. 12). 

We may also pray for and hope to obtain from 
the mercy of God temporal goods, such as health, 
a sufficient income, peace in our family, provision 
for our children, etc. For Christ has given a place 
to the petition for our daily bread in the "Our 
Father." But we may only ask to obtain them as 
far as it is in accordance with the will of God and 
conducive to our salvation. The petition for our 



Hope, 101 

daily bread is not the first, but the fourth of the 
" Our Father," and it is the only one which refers to 
temporal blessings. Our thought should aspire 
above all to the attainment of heavenly goods, and 
everything else should be subordinate to them. 
The rest we may leave in the hands of God, who 
knows all we stand in need of. " Seek ye there- 
fore first the kingdom of God, and His justice, 
and all these things shall be added unto you" (St. 
Matt. vi. 33). 

Application. 

i. Let us place all our hope in God, and in God 
alone. He is our only helper. And although all 
men may forsake us, God does not forsake those 
who trust in Him. Let us therefore say with the 
Psalmist: "I cried to Thee, O Lord; I said: Thou 
art my hope, my portion in the land of the living" 
(Ps. cxli. 6). 

Let us remember how gracious and merciful the 
Lord has been to us hitherto. He has taken care 
of us from the first moment of our existence. He 
has helped us so far, and He will help us still 
further. Let us not lose courage, but let us say: 
" Why art thou sad, O my soul ? and why dost thou 
trouble me? Hope in God, for I will still give 
praise to Him" (Ps. xli. C). 

3. But let us beware lest we become careless in 
the affair of our salvation. Even the most holy 



102 The First Commandment of God. 

have cause for anxiety. Let us be watchful, for 
" your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth 
about seeking whom he may devour" (i St. Peter 
v. 8). 

4. Hope must not only live in our heart, but, like 
the theological virtue of faith; it ought to be fre- 
quently exercised in order that it may be strength- 
ened by such an act of confidence. Our acts of hope 
should in a special manner express our confidence 
in the merits of Jesus Christ, which alone have ac- 
quired the forgiveness of our sins and all heavenly 
graces for us. " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 
us from all sin" (1 St. John i, 7). 

Examples. 

We find a beautiful example of strong hope in 
holy Job. In the midst of his pains and sufferings, 
which, according to human foresight, could not be 
relieved by any one, he said : " Although He should 
kill me, I will trust in Him" (Job xiii. 15). When 
the relatives and friends of Tobias mocked him 
and said: "Where is thy hope, for which thou 
gavest alms, and buriedst the dead?" he answered: 
" Speak not so, for we are the children of saints, 
and look for that life which God will give to those 
that never change their faith from Him" (Tob. ii. 
16-18). The woman of Chanaan would not be re- 
buked by the seemingly harsh words of Our Lord, 
" It is not good to take the bread of the children, 



" Ibis patents went evers sear to Jerusalem, at tbe solemn 
t>aB of tbe pascb."-St. 3Lufee if. 41. 




COPYRIGHT, 1897, Br BENZIGER BROTHERS. 

""Cbcv; foun& a man cjatbering sticks on tbe Sabbatb oas 

Bnt> tbe Xorb sato to /Iboses : Xet tbat man fcie."— IRum. iv. 32, 35. 

THIRD COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 



THE THIRD COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 

"Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." 

Reflection. — All our days belong to God who has 
made us, and it is our duty to devote them all to His 
service. Although we might do this without neglect- 
ing the obligations devolving on us on account of 
our state of life, of our position in society, neverthe- 
less God has specially reserved to His service one day 
in the week, in which He bids us rest from our usual 
occupations and which He directs us to keep holy. 
This day is the Sunday, which the Church, by the 
power conferred on her by Christ Himself, has ordered 
to take the place of the Jewish Sabbath, and on 
which she commands us to hear Mass. 

Practice. — Let us on Sundays and festivals abstain 
from all unnecessary servile work, from all dangerous 
amusements, and, besides devoutly assisting at the 
whole of Mass, let us hear the word of God and 
devote some portion of the day to the reading of good 
books and Catholic periodicals. 

Prayer. — O my God, I am resolved to spend the 
Sunday in a Christian manner and to devote it princi- 
pally to honoring Thee and attending seriously to my 
eternal salvation. O Mary, my dear Mother, help me 
to sanctify the Sundays and festivals. Amen. 



Sins Against Ho£e. 103 

and to cast it to the dogs," but said : " Yea, Lord, 
for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from 
the table of their masters" (St. Matt. xv. 27). The 
thief on the right hand of Our Saviour well knew 
that he received the just punishment of his deeds, 
yet full of confidence he addressed to Our Lord the 
following petition: "Lord, remember me when 
Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom" (St. Luke 
xxiii. 42), and he was not disappointed in his hope. 

Sins Against Hope* 

We sin against hope by want of confidence, false 
confidence, carelessness with regard to our salva- 
tion, presumption, and despair. 

1. We must have so firm a confidence in God 
that our hope is not shaken even if for a time every- 
thing should seem to fail. And if our help should 
tarry for ever so long, we know that our prayer 
shall be heard on the day when it shall be good for 
us. If this be true of our bodily needs, how much 
more will it be so of our spiritual ones. For it 
was to redeem us from our spiritual need that Our 
Saviour offered His life and His blood. " In 
Christ we have redemption through His blood, the 
remission of sins, according to the riches of His 
grace" (Eph. i. 7). 

2. But as on the one hand we must not be dis- 
trustful and pusillanimous, on the other we must 



104 The First Commandment of God. 

not give ourselves up to a false confidence and be- 
lieve that we cannot be lost because God is kind 
and merciful. Such a false confidence would de- 
stroy the zeal for our salvation in us and lead us 
to a carelessness which would most probably end 
in the loss of our soul, as it would be hardly pos- 
sible to keep ourselves from grievous sin. But 
our ruin would be quite certain if we were to con- 
tinue in sin, trusting in the longanimity, goodness, 
and mercy of God. This presumption is a sin 
against the Holy Ghost. " Add not sin upon sin, 
and say not: The mercy of the Lord is great, He 
will have mercy on the multitude of my sins. For 
mercy and wrath quickly come from Him, and His 
wrath looketh upon sinners" (Ecclus. v. 5-7). 

3. It is an equally grievous sin to despair of the 
mercy of God, and give up all hope of obtaining 
pardon of our sins and the means necessary to sal- 
vation. This would be denying the mercy of God 
in the same way as the presumptuous denies His 
justice. Such despair is very often the source of 
many other sins. The despairing man thinks*. '' It 
is quite indifferent what I do, I am lost in any 
case; nothing worse can happen to me; I am 
damned already; why should I struggle when it is 
of no use?" — and plunges recklessly into all vices. 
This is also a sin against the Holy Ghost, who says 
by the mouth of the Prophet Isaias : " Wash your- 
selves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices 



Sins Against Hope. 105 

from My eyes : cease to do perversely, learn to do 
well : seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge 
for the fatherless, defend the widow. And then 
come and accuse Me, saith the Lord: if your sins 
be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as 
snow : and if they be red as crimson, they shall be 
white as wool" (Is. i. 16-18). 

Application. 

1. When the Prophet Jonas was asked by the 
mariners who he was, which was his country, and 
whither he went, he answered : ri I am a Hebrew, 
and I fear the Lord the God of heaven, who made 
both the sea and the dry land" (Jonas i. 9). Jonas 
declared by these words that the first and supreme 
object of his life was to confess the one, true, 
living God, to fear Him, and to walk in His pres- 
ence. This Hebrew puts all those men to shame 
who never reflect upon their destination, who have 
no thought for any one but themselves, and set aside 
all the commandments if they can procure their 
well-being by doing so. Just as Jonas said: "I 
am a Hebrew and fear the Lord," every Christian 
ought to say: "lama Christian, and faith in the 
true God is the light which guides and directs me. 
In this light I will walk as long as I live. I fear 
God, and Him alone will I serve." 

2. Faith in the one God, who led the Israelites 
out of the land of bondage into the Land of Prom- 



io6 The First Commandment of God. 

ise, and will lead us through the desert of this mor- 
tal life, will also preserve us from trusting in man. 
It will keep us from placing our hope and confi- 
dence in poor, erring, fickle creatures, who, however 
exalted their position in this world may seem, can- 
not help us in the gravest hour of our life, in that 
hour where we must give an account whether we 
have understood our task here below and have 
striven after the one eternal God and His king- 
dom. Woe to us if our faith and our works have 
been vain! Let us say, therefore, with David: " It 
is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope 
in the Lord God" (Ps. lxxii. 28). 

Examples, 

When the Israelites had no water in the desert, 
Moses received from God a command to strike the 
rock in order to cause water to flow from it. But 
he doubted whether the water would really spring 
forth, because the Israelites had shown themselves 
unworthy of the divine mercy by their murmurings. 
He was punished for this want of confidence by 
being allowed only to see the Promised Land from 
afar off, but not to enter it (Deut. xxxii. 51, 52). 
The Pharisees thought they could not lose the 
kingdom of God because they were descended 
from Abraham and were Abraham's sons. St. John 
the Baptist said to them : " Bring forth worthy 
fruits of penance. And think not to say within 



The Veneration of the Saints. 107 

yourselves, We have Abraham for our father" (St. 
Matt. iii. 8, 9). Cain despaired of God's mercy 
when he exclaimed: "My iniquity is greater than 
that I may deserve pardon" (Gen. iv. 13). Judas 
also despaired and hanged himself. St. Paul says 
of the Gentiles : " Having their understanding dark- 
ened, being alienated from a life of God through 
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blind- 
ness of their hearts. Who, despairing, have given 
themselves up to lasciviousness, and unto the work- 
ing of uncleanness" (Eph. iv. 18, 19). 

The Veneration of the Saints, 

It is true that the first commandment enjoins 
that we are not to have strange gods before the one 
true God, and are not to make an image or like- 
ness of creatures, to adore them or serve them 
(Exod. xx. 3-5). By these words we are not, how- 
ever, forbidden to honor the saints of God, for we 
neither adore nor serve them. 

1. The saints of God certainly are mere creatures. 
But they have been called by God to His service, 
and have followed their vocations, and are therefore 
numbered among the elect. They have co-operated 
with the grace bestowed upon them and have served 
God faithfully. They have struggled and fought 
and have now received their crown. Therefore God 
Himself has honored them, and Our Saviour has 



io8 The First Commandment of God. 

promised expressly that He would honor those with 
the highest honor who should serve Him with fidel- 
ity. "To him that shall overcome, I will give to 
sit with Me in My throne; as I also have overcome, 
and am set down with My Father in His throne" 
(Apoc. iii. 21). "If any man minister to Me, him 
will My Father honor" (St. John xii. 26). 

2. If, according to the words of the Apostle, honor 
is due to every one who does good, why should it 
not be accorded above all to the saints, who more 
than any one else have done good and avoided evil, 
and have thus become our models? "Glory and 
honor and peace to every one that worketh good" 
(Rom. ii. to). 

However, this veneration cannot be compared in 
the remotest degree to the worship which belongs 
to God, and which we render to Him alone. We 
adore God, because He is the Most High and the 
Only One. The saints, however great the perfec- 
tion to which they have attained, have become what 
they are through the power of God alone. They 
were men like ourselves, and it is by the grace of 
God that they have become saints. But the Lord 
is of Himself and through Himself. He is the 
Source of all good, of all perfection, of all life, of 
all grace. Therefore the twenty -four ancients be- 
fore the throne of God exclaim in adoration : 
" Thou art worthy, O Lord, our God, to receive 
glory, and honor, and power: because Thou hast 



The Veneration of the Saints. 109 

created all things, and for Thy will they were, and 
have been created" (Apoc. iv. 11). 

3. We are not only to venerate the saints for their 
virtues, but we may address ourselves to them as to 
friends of God, and ask their intercession. We are 
to invoke more especially the great Mother of God, 
whom Our Lord, when He was hanging on the cross, 
gave to us to be a mother to all Christians; St. 
Joseph, the protector of Christendom and patron of 
our last hour; our holy guardian angel; the patron 
saint in whose name we are baptized; the patron 
saint of the church where we received Baptism, and 
the patron saint of our parish church, if he be a 
different one. 

4. We may also make images of the saints and 
pray before them, for we pray to God, and only ask 
the saints to help our prayer by their intercession. 
We represent the saints as they were on earth, or as 
we imagine them to have been: for instance, St. 
Martin and St. Sebastian as soldiers, St. Nicholas 
as a bishop, St. Anthony as a hermit, St. Isidore as 
a shepherd, etc. These images are only intended 
to remind us more vividly of them. Therefore the 
Roman Catechism says: "But as Christ the Lord, 
and His most holy and most pure Mother, and all 
the other saints, having been endued with human 
nature, bore the human form, it is not only not for- 
bidden by this commandment to paint and honor 
their images, but it has always been deemed a holy 



no The First Commandment of God. 

practice, and a most certain proof of a grateful 
mind; a position which is confirmed by the monu- 
ments of the apostolic age, general councils, and 
the writings of so many holy and very learned 
Fathers, who are of one accord upon the subject." 

God Himself commanded Moses to place over 
the Ark of the Covenant two golden cherubim, who 
were to spread their wings and cover the oracle 
(Exod. xxv. 18). 

And when, after the Israelites had entered the 
Promised Land, Solomon built the Temple, he also 
caused two cherubim to be placed over the Ark in 
the Holy of Holies, and others to be carved in the 
wall (3 Kings vi. 23-29). 

As far back as the second century we find in the 
catacombs images of the saints and of the holy 
Mother of God. The Emperor Constantine caused 
a cross to be erected in the most prominent spot of 
his palace. St. Jerome says of St. Paula: "Pros- 
trate before the cross, she adored as if she saw the 
Redeemer of the world hanging thereon." The 
Fathers and Doctors of the Church have approved 
and recommended the use of images. 

Thus St. Basil says: "I venerate the holy apos- 
tles, prophets, and martyrs, and invoke them in the 
prayers which I address to God, in order that 
through them, i.e., through their intercession, God 
may be gracious to me, and I, too, may obtain re- 
mission of my sins. Therefore I reverently kiss 



The Veneration of the Saints. in 

their images, for apostolic tradition does not pro- 
hibit their use, but rather sanctions the custom of 
placing them in the churches." 

St. Gregory the Great says : " Paintings are placed 
in the churches, in order that those who cannot 
read may at least learn from the pictures what 
they cannot read in books." 

St. Germanus: " The images of the saints are in- 
centives to virtue in the same way as edifying dis- 
courses are; a picture is a compressed history, 
which directs our thoughts towards our heavenly 
Father. It is without cause that people take scan- 
dal at the custom of burning incense or candles 
before the images of saints, for these are only sym- 
bols which represent the virtues of the saints, i.e., 
their illumination by the Holy Spirit, and the 
divine inspirations with which they have been 
favored." 

5, We may also honor the relics of the saints. 
By relics we principally mean the bodies of the 
saints, either the whole body or some of its prin- 
cipal parts, as, for instance, the head, arm, hand, 
etc. ; or smaller particles, as, for instance, pieces of 
the holy cross, or of the bones of saints. Pieces 
of their garments are also called relics. The body 
is the temple of the Holy Ghost. It has been sanc- 
tified in holy Baptism, and anointed with holy oil 
and chrism. The body was the instrument of the 
soul in the service of God, and shall be reunited to 



ii2 The First Commandment of God. 

it on the last day, and share the glory of heaven. 
The articles which the saints have used or worn 
about their person are as sacred to us as the relics 
of our dear relations, whose hair, rings, kerchiefs, 
and other property we keep as souvenirs. We 
often hear of sticks, swords, and spectacles, snuff- 
boxes, inkstands, pens, etc. of famous men being 
sold at a high price. People try to preserve the 
rooms in which such men pursued their studies, or 
in which they died, in the same condition in which 
they were found on the day of their death. But the 
saints are the most famous of all men, and their 
possessions are priceless souvenirs. It has never 
been heard that the inkstand of Luther, the crutch- 
stick of Frederick the Great, or the little gray hat 
of Napoleon has worked miracles. But miracles 
were wrought in the ages of the Old Testament by 
the bones, garments, or kerchiefs of the saints, and 
miracles, wonderful cures, extraordinary answers to 
prayer have at all times been obtained through relics. 
Not only have many of these miracles happened in 
the presence of great multitudes of the faithful, 
but they have been most carefully examined and 
confirmed both by secular and ecclesiastical au- 
thorities. Therefore St. Jerome exclaims: " Happy 
the town in which only one saint lies buried! For 
his body, which has suffered for Christ, pleads 
without ceasing with God, and his pleading" is 
heard.'' 



The Way of Honoring the Saints. 1 1 3 

The Church Teaches Us the Way of Honor- 
ing- the Saints* 

The best way of finding out how the saints are to 
be honored is to study the prayers of the Church. 

All the prayers in which she makes mention of 
the saints are addressed to God, and the saints are 
expressly designated there as intercessors, not as 
mediators, for there is only one Mediator — Jesus 
Christ. 

Therefore nearly all her prayers end with these 
words: "Through Our Lord Jesus Christ." 

In the holy Mass the saints are several times 
mentioned. At the beginning the priest confesses 
his sinfulness and beseeches the blessed Mary ever 
Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed 
John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, 
to pray for him to the Lord our God. 

After ascending the altar steps he says, with his 
hands joined: "We beseech Thee, O Lord, by the 
merits of Thy saints, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe 
to forgive me all my sins." 

After the Lavabo the priest says : " May they 
intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we cele- 
brate on earth/' 

In the Canon of the holy Mass itself the saints 
are remembered three times, before and after the 
Consecration, and before the breaking of the sacred 
Host. The petitions are as follows: 



ii4 The First Commandment of God. 

Before the Consecration : 

" Communicating with and honoring in the first 
place the memory of the glorious and ever virgin 
Mary, Mother of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ : 
as also of the blessed apostles and martyrs, . . . 
and of all Thy saints, by whose merits and prayers 
grant that we may be always defended by the help 
of Thy protection. Through the same Christ Our 
Lord. Amen." 

After the Consecration : 

11 And to us sinners, Thy servants, hoping in the 
multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some 
part and fellowship with Thy holy apostles and 
martyrs; . . . into whose company we beseech Thee 
to admit us, not considering our merits, but freely 
pardoning our offences. Through Christ Our Lord. 
By whom, O Lord, Thou dost always create, sanc- 
tify, quicken, bless, and give us all these good 
things." 

Before breaking the sacred Host : 

" Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all 
evils, past, present, and to come: and by the inter- 
cession of the blessed and glorious Mary ever Vir- 
gin, Mother of God, together with Thy blessed 
apostles Peter and Paul, and Andrew, and all the 
saints, mercifully grant peace in our days: that by 
the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free 
from sin, and secure from all disturbance. Through 
the same Jesus Christ Thy Son Our Lord." 



Canonization. 1 1 5 

In the " Litany of the Saints" we ask for mercy 
from the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity: 
" God the Father of heaven ; God the Son, Reedemer 
of the world; God the Holy Ghost — have mercy on 
us." But the saints, not excepting the great 
Mother of God, are addressed in the words: "Pray 
for us." 

Thus the liturgy of the Church teaches us more 
clearly than anything else the difference between 
the adoration due to God and the veneration ac- 
corded to the saints. 

Canonization* 

The first servants of God who were honored as 
saints in the early Church and whose intercession 
was invoked were naturally the martyrs, who gave 
their lives for Our Lord by their true and steadfast 
confession. The Christians tried to get possession 
of their bodies whenever it was possible, at their 
tombs the faithful assembled. No canonization 
was required; the whole Christian community were 
the witnesses of their holy death. But soon it be- 
came the custom to write down an account of their 
last hours and glorious martyrdom. 

This was principally done at Rome, where Pope 
Clement divided the town into seven districts, and 
appointed notaries on purpose to take down the acts 
of the martyrs. Pope Fabian placed seven deacons 



n6 The First Commandment of God. 

at the head of these districts, .and gave them seven 
subdeacons for assistants, who were to superintend 
the notaries. St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, took 
similar measures, and provided that not all should 
be honored as martyrs who had suffered death in 
the persecutions, but only those who were worthy of 
such an honor. The accounts thus drawn up were 
carefully examined by the bishops, and those which 
were found correct were read out in public on the 
anniversary of the martyrs, and sent to the different 
churches, so that they also might commemorate 
these heroes of the faith. The decision of the 
Roman Popes was of great weight in this matter. 
St. John Chrysostom, patriarch of Constantinople, 
who enjoyed a very great veneration, was not hon- 
ored by the Church as a saint till the Pope had 
extolled him as such. After the martyrdom of St. 
Virgil, bishop of Tours, the faithful applied to 
Rome for permission to venerate him as a saint. 
The first solemn canonization is that of St. Ulric, 
bishop of Augsburg, which was promulgated by the 
First Lateran Council, a.d. 993. 

Soon, however, it was found necessary, for the 
prevention of abuses, to establish the rule that with- 
out the approbation of the Roman Church nobody 
could publicly be venerated as a saint, and a proc- 
ess was instituted on purpose, in order to avoid 
all error and precipitation in so important a matter, 
and to remove even the slightest doubt as to the 



Canonization. 1 1 7 

virtues and miracles of the deceased servant of 
God. The procedure observed in our day is as 
follows : 

When the beatification of a deceased person is 
petitioned for, the bishop of the diocese sets an in- 
quiry on foot in order to ascertain whether the 
person in question has really had the reputation of 
possessing heroic virtues and the power of working 
miracles. The acts are sent to Rome and made 
over to a congregation instituted on purpose for 
cases of canonization. Not till ten years after, and 
on the assurance of the bishop that the veneration 
of the confessor has not decreased, but is on the in- 
crease, a second inquiry takes place. If those who 
in the first instance petitioned for the beatification 
still insist on the progress of the matter, three 
bishops are deputed to examine in concert whether 
the person to be beatified enjoyed the reputation of 
leading a holy life and possessing the power of 
working miracles among the majority of the people, 
especially in the place where he died and where his 
body lies buried. In case this inquiry turns out in 
his favor, and the former petition is renewed, the 
examination of his virtues and miracles begins. 
But this may not be till fifty years after the death 
of the person in question, unless by special dispen- 
sation from the Holy Father. In this process each 
virtue and each miracle is separately examined, 
and physicians are called in to pronounce on the 



n8 The First Commandment of God. 

miraculous cures which have been wrought. All 
this is done in three different congregations (com- 
mittees), and in each of these three times. Not till 
these congregations have given a favorable verdict 
does the beatification take place in a solemn service, 
in which the Pope proclaims that the person named 
may be called " Blessed," and invoked as such, and 
may be made the object of public veneration be- 
cause of his heroic virtues and the miracles worked 
by him. But this veneration is subject to many 
restrictions: the relics of the person pronounced 
Blessed may not, for instance, be carried in proces- 
sion, nor his image be placed on the altar. 

Some time after the beatification a petition for 
canonization may be sent in. But it must be ac- 
companied by proofs that since the beatification at 
least two miracles have been granted by God to the 
intercession of the "Blessed." This trial is like- 
wise conducted by three congregations of Cardinals. 
An advocate is appointed whose duty it is to bring 
forward everything which he thinks could possibly 
throw a doubt on the genuineness of the miracles. 
This advocate who, as it were, tries to deprive the 
beatified of his glory and to give satisfaction to the 
devil, goes by the name of "devil's advocate;" the 
advocate, on the contrary, who endeavors to prove 
the miracles is called the advocate of God. If the 
inquiry turns out favorably to those who have asked 
for the canonization, the Blessed is declared a 



Pronouncing the Name of God. 119 

saint by the Pope in a solemn service. By this act 
the whole Church recognizes him as a canonized 
saint. He may be invoked in the public prayers of 
the Church, his name may be introduced in the 
holy Mass, and an office may be composed in his 
honor. Days may be appointed to commemorate 
him, and his anniversary may be celebrated. The 
head of the saint may be surrounded with a glory 
(nimbus) on pictures representing him. His image 
and relics may be publicly exposed to veneration, 
and carried in procession. 

Nobody will pretend that any other tribunal in 
the world proceeds with such scrupulous care. If 
a deceased person is declared worthy of veneration 
after such a trial, we cannot doubt but that he 
really is venerable and holy. It must be specially 
noted that the canonization on the part of the Pope 
only confirms what the Christian community has 
held for some time. 



Gbe SeconD GommanDment 

Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God 
in vain. 

Pronouncing the Name of God* 

If we owe honor and adoration to God, we are 
also bound to show respect and reverence to His 
name. For the name of God is no idle word or 



izo The Second Commandment of God. 

empty sound, but it means the essence and attri- 
butes of God. When I say : The Lord, the Lord 
of hosts, the King of heaven and earth, the All- 
Merciful, etc., it stands to reason that I mean the 
person of God Himself. Now we are allowed to 
pronounce the name of God, but we may not pro- 
nounce it in vain, i.e., without necessity, irrever- 
ently, or flippantly, for it is written: " Holy and 
terrible is His name" (Ps. ex. 9). 

Let this be specially remembered by people who 
in their ordinary conversations use such exclama- 
tion as "O Lord!" etc. They excuse themselves 
by saying that it is only a habit, and that they 
mean no harm. Even so, God does not accept their 
excuse; it is said expressly: "The Lord will not 
hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the 
Lord his God in vain" (Ex. xx. 7). 

What is said of the name of God also holds 
good of the most holy name of Jesus. It is a 
blameworthy custom, although common even among 
pious people, to exclaim, "Lord Jesus!" because 
this name ought not to be used except to inspire 
us with respect and devotion. " In the name 
of Jesus every knee shall bow of those that are 
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" (Phil, 
ii. to). 

The second commandment prohibits more espe- 
cially blasphemy, unlawful oaths, cursing, and 
breaking of vows. 



Pronouncing the Name of God. 121 

Blasphemy. 

Every word by which God is offended is a blas- 
phemy. This sin is committed by denying the per- 
fections of God or ascribing an imperfection to God : 
for instance, if any one were to say : " God would 
have much to do if He were to trouble about each 
one of us;" or if we were to say: "How cruel 
God is, who leaves many thousands to perish in 
want and loads others with riches;" or: "Is it 
right that I am to lie here on a sick-bed?" etc. 
Such words are at the same time sins against faith, 
and grievous sins when committed deliberately. 

The most grievous kind of blasphemy consists in 
insulting or mocking God directly, in turning Him 
into ridicule, in daring Him to show His power 
if He wants us to believe in Him, and such like 
speeches, which are most abominable if they are 
uttered with full deliberation. 

We can be guilty of blasphemy also in thought: 
for instance, by thinking in our heart: "If only 
God were not omniscient and just, so that He 
would not punish sin!" 

It would be a blasphemy by deed if any one were 
to show his contempt of God by spitting towards 
heaven or shaking his fist to show his anger 
against God. 

It is likewise blaspheming God to mock or revile 
His saints, or to speak disrespectfully of the holy 



122 The Second Commandment of God. 

cross, or the five wounds of Our Lord. He also is 
guilty of blasphemy who refuses to acknowledge the 
Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of God (deipard), 
as the heresiarch Nestorius has done. All insults 
to the saints reflect upon God, who has chosen and 
predestined them. 

Punishment oj Blasphemy. 

It happened once that the son of an Israelite 
woman had a quarrel with another Israelite, and 
he blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed it. 
He was brought before Moses, and then put in 
prison till it should be known what the Lord would 
command. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 
" Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp, 
and let them that heard him put their hands upon 
his head, and let all the people stone him. And 
thou shalt speak to the children of Israel : The man 
that curseth his God shall bear his sin: and he 
that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let 
him die; all the multitude shall stone him, whether 
he be a native or a stranger. He that blasphemeth 
the name of the Lord, dying let him die" (Lev. 
xxiv. 14-16). And the children of Israel brought 
forth the blasphemer and did as the Lord had com- 
manded. 

How prevalent the sin of blasphemy had become 
among the Israelites can be seen from the words 
of the elder Tobias, who prophesied that all those 



Oaths. 123 

should be cursed who despised Jerusalem. He thus 
addresses the city of God: "They shall be cursed 
that shall despise Thee, and they shall be con- 
demned that shall blaspheme Thee" (Tob. xiii. 16). 
The Jews therefore rent their garments to express 
their grief and sorrow when they heard a blasphemy 
(St. Mark xiv. 63). 

Oaths. 

By an oath is meant calling God to witness that 
we speak the truth, or that we intend to keep a 
promise we make. In certain cases this is permissi- 
ble, whether we be called upon by the civil authori- 
ties to take the oath or whether it be considered 
necessary outside the sphere of the law. " Men 
swear by one greater than themselves ; and an oath 
for confirmation is the end of all their controversy" 
(Heb. vi. 16). 

1. An oath may only be taken in a matter of im- 
portance. All those asseverations are therefore 
sinful which people make use of in ordinary life in 
order to obtain credence for what they assert — for 
instance: "Upon my soul," "May I die if this is 
not true," etc. 

Here we must observe the precept of Our Lord : 
" I say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, 
for it is the throne of God: nor by the earth, for 
it is His footstool: nor by Jerusalem, for it is the 
city of the great King: neither shalt thou swear by 



124 The Second Commandment of God. 

thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white 
or black. But let your speech be yea, yea : no, no : 
and that which is over and above these is of evil" 
(St. Matt. v. 34-37)- 

2. Although it is permitted to take an oath in 
certain cases, the rule given by the Prophet Jere- 
mias holds good for all: "Thou shalt swear in 
truth, and in judgment, and in justice" (Jer. iv. 2). 
We may therefore not take an oath unless we 
know for quite certain that the matter we swear to 
is true, or unless we are firmly resolved to keep 
what we promise. 

We must use judgment in our oaths, i.e., they 
must only be taken before a court of law, or, at any 
rate, with the intention of calling God to witness 
in a grave and important matter, not rashly, lightly, 
and without religious reverence. Even in a law- 
court the administration of an oath ought to be 
considered as a religious act, and treated accord- 
ingly. 

An oath ought to be just, /'. e. t taken in a righteous 
cause. We may only promise to do something 
that is allowed. If we bind ourselves by oath 
to do anything forbidden, for instance, to take 
part in a bad action, such an oath is sinful and 
invalid. 

3. Perjury is one of the most dreadful sins, be- 
cause the person who swears falsely says, as it 
were: " God is not almighty, He is not omniscient, 



Oaths. 125 

He is not just. He does not know anything of 
what I assert at this moment; there is no God." 
Such language is horrible blasphemy. 

He who swears falsely, even in a trifling matter, 
commits a grievous sin, for the point in question is 
not the greatness of the matter which we confirm by 
oath, but the injury we do to God by denying His 
existence and His attributes, and by provoking and 
mocking His person. 

Therefore God threatens the perjurer with the 
most awful punishments. " A curse shall come to 
the house of the thief, and to the house of him that 
sweareth falsely by My name: and it shall remain 
in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, 
with the timber thereof, and the stones thereof" 
(Zach. v. 4). 

" Rather be beggared than perjured." 

4. Christian authorities sin if they administer an 
oath without sufficient solemnity to remind people 
of the sacredness of the oath. They sin if they 
exact an oath in matters of little import, merely to 
shorten a trial ; if they insert in the oaths of office 
clauses which scandalize the Christian conscience. 

5. He who has sworn to do anything, commits a 
sin by not keeping his promise if he is able to keep 
it. In this way officials sin who do not conscien- 
tiously fulfil the duties to which they have bound 
themselves by oath in entering upon their office; 
soldiers who desert or forsake the banner which 



126 The Second Commandment of God. 

they have sworn to defend, or turn against their 
sovereign; furthermore, citizens who refuse obedi- 
ence to the lawful authority or to their king, and in- 
stigate, approve, or further riot and rebellion. 

In a promissory oath the gravity of the sin de- 
pends on the greatness and importance of the 
matter promised. 

6. If a man has injured another by swearing a 
false oath he owes him full reparation. But if in 
consequence of his false oath another were to suffer 
punishment — if he were imprisoned for instance — 
it would be absolutely necessary for him to accuse 
himself before the law, in order to effect the liber- 
ation of the man who is innocently punished. It 
would be the same if a man had lost his fortune or 
had been sent into exile through the false oath of 
another; contrition and penance alone would not 
suffice in these cases. 

7. If there are good and weighty reasons for 
doing so, the Church can annul an oath or commute 
the contracted obligation into another; for instance, 
where the fulfilment of a promise would entail grave 
danger to our body, fortune, or good name, or 
where by a dispensation the honor of God could be 
promoted in a higher degree. 

Persons who are not independent cannot legally 
promise anything on oath, and their oath only be- 
comes valid through the consent of their superiors. 
Thus children cannot bind themselves by oath 



Oaths. 127 

without the permission of their parents as long as 
they are under parental authority, and religious 
can only do so with the sanction of their supe- 
riors. 

Examples. 

It is clear from Holy Writ that oaths are per- 
mitted; God said to Abraham through an angel: 
" By My own self have I sworn, because thou hast 
done this thing, and hast not spared thy only-be- 
gotten son for My sake: I will bless thee, and I 
will multiply thy seed— and in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. xxii. 16- 
18). God declared to the people of Israel through 
Isaias : " I have sworn by Myself, the word of jus- 
tice shall go out of My mouth and not return : for 
every knee shall be bowed to Me, and every tongue 
shall swear" (Is. xlv. 23, 24). Christ Our Lord 
Himself swore before the high-priest that He was 
the Son of God (St. Matt. xxvi. 63, 64). St. Paul 
thus solemnly asserts: "God is my witness that 
without ceasing I make a commemoration of you" 
(Rom. i. 9). We find the judicial oath instituted 
by Moses for the benefit of those who were accused 
of having appropriated anything unjustly: "There 
shall be an oath between them, that he did not put 
forth his hand to his neighbor's goods: and the 
owner shall accept of the oath, and he shall not be 
compelled to make restitution" (Ex. xxii. 11). 



128 The Second Commandment of God. 



Cursing* 

To curse means to imprecate, i.e., to invoke evil 
on one's self or others. Cursing is in itself a sin, 
but it also originates in sin, for nobody wishes 
harm to himself or others unless it be from anger, 
envy, revenge, etc. If the person who curses calls 
upon the name of God, the Blessed Sacrament, or 
the holy cross, etc., he blasphemes. From this we 
see what a grievous sin cursing is. 

i. The man who curses and calls down evil on 
himself in his anger and malice, transgresses griev- 
ously against self-love. In saying, for instance : " I 
wish I were dead!" "Oh, that I had never been 
born!" or in uttering other abominable speeches of 
the same kind he disputes and wrangles with 
God, and gives up his own soul to perdition. The 
Apostle places a man who curses among the most 
abandoned sinners: "Do not err. Neither forni- 
cators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor thieves, 
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers [men who 
curse], nor extortioners shall possess the kingdom 
of God" (i Cor. vi. 9, 10). 

2. He who wishes harm to others violates char- 
ity in the most grievous manner. How can a man 
think that he fulfils the commandment, "Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," if he say to a 
fellow-man : " May lightning strike you!" " May the 



Cursing. 129 

devil take you!" etc. How awful will these words 
of Our Lord be for him: "Whosoever shall say [to 
his brother], Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell- 
fire" (St. Matt. v. 22). 

3. He who utters a curse dishonors God in the 
most flagrant manner, for he asks God or the devil 
to act as hangman or executioner to himself or his 
fellow-man. " By the tongue we bless God and the 
Father: and by it we curse men, who are made 
after the likeness of God. Out of the same 
mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My 
brethren, these things ought not to be" (St. James 
iii. 9, 10). 

4. Curses and imprecations drive away the bless- 
ing of God. By them man becomes his own enemy, 
for nobody can do a greater injury to another than 
the man who curses does to himself by forfeiting 
the blessing of God and incurring His wrath. In 
such a man the following words of the Psalmist 
will come true : " He loved cursing, and it shall 
come unto him: and he would not have blessing, 
and it shall be far from him" (Ps. cviii. 18). 

Application. 

1. The Apostle admonishes us: "Let every man 
be swift to hear, but slow to speak" (St. James i. 
19). Let us remember his words, and be guarded 
in our speech. Man's greatest enemy is his own 
tongue. Let us pray, therefore, with the Psalmist: 
9 



130 The Second Commandment of God. 

" Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth : and a 
door round about my lips" (Ps. cxl. 3). 

2. If a Christian has had the misfortune to utter 
a curse, he should at once ask God's pardon for the 
offence and make a purpose of amendment. Should 
he have contracted a habit of cursing, he would do 
weli to punish himself by a little penance each 
time he falls. This will incite him to greater 
watchfulness, and help to preserve him from a 
relapse. 

Warning Examples. 

The Church historian Eusebius, who lived at the 
time of Constantine the Great, tells us of an awful 
example of self-imprecation added to false testi- 
mony. 

St. Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem, was shame- 
fully accused of a horrible crime against chastity by 
a profligate Christian whom he had rebuked for his 
scandalous life. Three of this man's accomplices 
even confirmed their calumnies by oaths, in which 
they uttered die most fearful imprecations against 
themselves. " May the flames devour me," said the 
first, " if I do not speak the truth." The second 
asked to be visited with the most horrible disease; 
and the third wished to lose his eyesight if they 
did not speak the truth. Who would not have 
thought the bishop guilty under such circumstances? 
And yet he was innocent, and among his own flock 
there were many whose faith in his virtue never 



Vows. 131 

wavered. The holy man left his defence to heaven 
and retired into solitude, where, far from a wicked 
world which disgusted him, he led the life of a her- 
mit. But the providence of God avenged the inno- 
cent man on his persecutors. They were visited 
with the very same punishments which they had 
offered to undergo. One night the house of the 
first calumniator was struck by lightning; his 
whole property was consumed by the flames; he 
could not even save his life, but was burnt to death 
with his wife and children. The second was covered 
from head to foot with a loathsome leprosy. His 
body was a mass of ulcers, and he saw his own 
limbs rot away one by one. The third was so 
struck with fear by the punishment of the other two 
that he repented of his crime, and shed such abun- 
dant tears that he lost his eyesight with weeping. 
Then Narcissus returned to Jerusalem. 

Vows* 

A vow is a promise by which we bind ourselves 
after mature reflection to do something pleasing to 
God. 

1. We must distinguish between a vow and a 
mere resolution. For instance, if a man says : " If 
I get well again, I will abstain from flesh-meat on 
Saturdays," he does not take a vow, but only a 
resolution. But if any one were to say : " O my 



132 The Second Commandment of God. 

God, make me well, and I promise Thee never to 
touch flesh-meat again on Saturdays," and if he had 
the intention of binding himself under pain of sin, 
he would have taken a vow. 

2. A vow must be voluntary, and may not be 
forced from any one by violence and threats, or by 
intimidation. So, for instance, a father may not 
force his child to enter the religious state in order 
that his other children may have a larger share of 
his fortune. On the other hand, a- vow remains 
valid, although it may have been made under pres- 
sure of fear or terror: for instance, if a person in 
danger of death had vowed to make a pious founda- 
tion in case he escaped, etc. ; for in this case the 
will of the person remained free. 

3. If we wish to take a vow we must understand 
the whole import of our promise and be able to 
fulfil it. We may not bind ourselves by vow to 
anything which would injure the rights of a third 
person, or collide with our duty. 

Thus children may take a vow to give certain 
alms out of their pocket-money, but only after hav- 
ing obtained their parents' permission. Servants 
may bind themselves by vow to visit a church on 
every Sunday when it comes to their turn to go out, 
but they could not bind themselves to do this every 
Sunday and holyday afternoon, because they are 
not masters of their time. Married women may 
not take vows by which the rights of their hus- 



Vows. 133 

bands are infringed, unless they obtain their 
consent. 

4. The object of our vow must be something 
pleasing to God. It must tend to the honor of 
God, the salvation of our soul, or the good of our 
neighbor. We must ask ourselves this question: 
Will the honor of God be better promoted by what 
I am about to promise than by any other good 
work? 

In order to obviate all doubt and difficulties, it 
is advisable not to make a vow without having con- 
sulted one's confessor. 

5. One can only make a vow to God, but one 
may make a vow in honor of some saint. For in- 
stance, I can vow in honor of St. Sebastian to build 
a chapel. But I make the promise to God in order 
to promote the honor of the saint whom God wishes 
to be honored. 

6. We may also bind ourselves by vow to some- 
thing to which we are already bound by divine and 
ecclesiastical law. We may do this to tie our own 
will more closely, and to give a stronger support to 
our human weakness. So, for instance, a man who 
is negligent about going to church on Sundays may 
see his danger, and say : " I vow from this day 
forth never to miss Mass on Sundays." Of course 
a voluntary transgression would be a double sin in 
his case. But the fear of committing an additional 
sin would be very efficacious in keeping him to his 



134 The Second Commandment of God. 

duty. As the omission would be a more grievous 
sin, the fulfilment of the duty would be so much 
more pleasing to God. 

7. The voluntary breaking of a vow is generally 
a very grievous sin, for by it the reverence due to 
God is violated, and our faith to Him is broken. 
"When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy 
God thou shalt not delay to pay it: because 
the Lord thy God will require it. And if thou 
delay, it shall be imputed to thee for sin" (Deut. 
xxiii. 21). 

8. A vow ceases to be binding if a person has 
vowed to do anything on certain conditions, and 
these conditions are not fulfilled. For instance, if 
anybody promises to make a pilgrimage in case he 
recovers from an illness, and he does not recover, 
neither he nor his heirs are bound to make the pil- 
grimage, or depute anybody else to make it. If a 
man were to promise to give a certain sum in alms 
every month, and sustained some reverse of for- 
tune, so that he would be in need of the money 
himself, the obligation would cease. If any one 
had vowed a certain fast, and were to fall sick, so 
that he could not bear the fast, he would no longer 
be bound by his vow. But if any one were to vow 
during an illness to make a foundation, or anything 
of that kind, and were to die before he could fulfil 
his promise, his heirs would be obliged to do so in 



Vows. 135 

his stead, for in this case the point is not that he 
fulfil the obligation, but that it be fulfilled. Such 
vows are called substantial vows. 

9. Under certain circumstances a vow may be 
commuted into another, or a total dispensation may 
be obtained. 

Any one may change a vow into a better one. 
For instance, a man may prefer to receive the Sac- 
raments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist on 
Sundays, instead of saying a Rosary every day. 

To change a vow into an equivalent or inferior 
one can only be done by the ecclesiastical authori- 
ties. In the same way the Church alone can dis- 
pense from a vow, i.e., remit it altogether. Every 
bishop has the power of doing this for his own 
diocese. But the following dispensations are re- 
served for the Pope : (a) from a vow to enter a re- 
ligious order recognized by the Church; (b) from 
the vow of perpetual chastity; (c) from a vow to 
make a pilgrimage to Rome, to Jerusalem, and to 
Santiago di Compostella in Spain. 

At the time of a jubilee all confessors have the 
power of commuting ordinary vows. 

A dispensation may only be given for good and 
valid reasons. He who deceives the Church, and 
alleges a reason which does not exist, gets a dis- 
pensation under false pretences; such a dispensa- 
tion is invalid. 



136 The Second Commandment of God. 

Application. 

Let the faithful guard above all against making 
rash vows, especially in time of excitement or first 
fervor. If any one be in doubt whether he has 
made a vow or not, he may in most cases assume 
that his promise had not the character of a vow, for 
one of the conditions of a vow is that it be made in 
a state of clear and full consciousness. In any 
case he would do well to consult a pious, prudent, 
person — his confessor if possible. 

Examples. 

It must not surprise us that Protestants contest 
the value of vows, for they deny the merit of good 
works altogether. But Holy Scripture teaches the 
contrary. It tells us how those who have made 
vows to God and kept them have been blessed. 
We hear, for instance, that the Patriarch Jacob 
vowed during his flight : " If God shall be with 
me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, 
and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put 
on, and I shall return prosperously to my father's 
house, the Lord shall be my God: and of all 
things that Thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes 
to Thee" (Gen. xxviii. 20-22). And God protected 
him and led him back, and blessed him and his pos- 
terity. Holy Anna, who was childless, made the 
following vow to God : " O Lord of hosts, if Thou 



The Sanctification of Sunday. 137 

wilt look down on the affliction of Thy servant, and 
wilt be mindful of me, and not forget Thy hand- 
maid, and will give to Thy servant a man-child: I 
will give him to the Lord all the days of his life" 
(1 Kings i. 11). And God gave her Samuel, the 
famous judge and prophet of Israel. David testi- 
fies: "A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion: 
and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem" 
(Ps. lxiv. 2). He wishes all Israel to know that he 
keeps his vows: "I will pay my vows to the Lord 
before all His people" (Ps. cxv. 5). St. Paul took 
a vow himself, and sanctified himself with others 
who had done the same, and thereby he showed 
that vows are agreeable to God. 

Gbe XLbivb Commandment 

Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. 

The Sanctification of Sunday* 

We keep Sunday as the day specially set aside 
for the worship and service of God. In the Old 
Testament the seventh day, or the Sabbath, was ob- 
served. The apostles, taught by the Holy Ghost, 
substituted Sunday, i.e., the first day of the week, 
for the Sabbath day. On Sunday God created the 
earthly light, and on Sunday the Sun of the heav- 
enly light rose for us in Jesus Christ. On Sunday 
Our Lord rose from the dead, and on Whitsunday 



138 The Third Commandment of God. 

He sent the Holy Ghost to the faithful in order to 
illuminate them with supernatural light. Thus on 
Sunday the work of the new creation was completed, 
and the work of sanctification begun. Therefore 
Sunday is not only intended to be a day of rest for 
the body, but principally a day on which man is to 
work out his sanctification, and thus honor God. 

i. The institution of a special day dedicated to 
the honor and service of God and destined to give 
man a rest from his labors is an invention of the 
Divine Wisdom. Man is to know above all that 
he is not placed in this world for work only, but 
that he has a higher destination, which he may not 
set aside. And he is also to learn that all does 
not depend on his labor, but that he stands in need 
of God's blessing if the work of his hands is to 
prosper. Moreover, he is to make time for medi- 
tating on his salvation, for being instructed on his 
duties, and foi the celebration of the divine mys- 
teries, in order to receive grace and cleanse his soul 
from dust and dirt. 

Sunday is also a day of thanksgiving. Not that 
we should put off thanking God for His benefits till 
Sunday. No, just as we supplicate Him every day 
we must thank Him daily. But on Sunday we 
thank God specially and in communion with the 
whole of Christendom, and we beg that Our Lord 
will give His blessing to our resolutions for the 
coming week, and to our toil and labor. 






The Sanctificatipn of Sunday. 139 

2. The Sunday is of immense value even as a 
day of rest for the body. If the commandment did 
not enjoin, " Six days shalt thou labor and do all 
thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt do no 
work" (Exod. xx. 9, 10), man in his selfishness would 
not allow any rest either to himself or his servants 
or his cattle; he would be so taken up by his 
worldly affairs that his body would succumb to his 
labors. It was seen at the time of the French 
Revolution how wise it is that man is made to rest 
after the space of six days. When the old calen- 
dar, and with it the old order of time, was abol- 
ished, and every tenth day appointed for a day of 
rest, the artisans and laborers could not hold out 
so long, and the wisdom of the divine institution 
appeared. 

3. In order to give honor to God, to raise the 
thoughts of Christians from temporal to eternal 
things, and to give both to rich and poor the need- 
ful rest for the body, it is forbidden to do any ser- 
vile work on Sunday, i.e., all manual and field labor 
such as is generally done by servants, laborers, 
artisans, etc., for gaining their livelihood. But 
through custom and tradition, recognized by eccle- 
siastical authority, certain domestic or household 
works which cannot well be omitted have come to 
be allowed, and also some trades which cannot be 
interrupted without great loss on Sundays. 

4. All those occupations are forbidden which 



14° The Third Commandment of God. 

disturb the rest and religious observance of Sunday, 
or prevent others from sanctifying it. 

Christian authorities sin when they allow or do 
not prevent disturbance of the Sunday rest. Mas- 
ters and manufacturers are not only forbidden to 
make their employees work on Sundays, but they 
may not even give them the choice whether they 
will work or not, as the sanctification of the Sun- 
day is ordained by God, and it is their duty to up- 
hold God's institutions. 

Intellectual work, however, is allowed, especially 
reading, writing, reckoning, drawing, playing musi- 
cal instruments, studying, etc. Travelling, riding, 
driving, etc., are also allowed; it is allowed to go 
for a pleasure trip on Sunday, or to play games, pro- 
vided our religious duties are not neglected, the 
Sunday rest is not disturbed, no scandal is given, 
and no sin is allowed to slip in. 

5. But as the Sabbath was made for man, and not 
man for the Sabbath (St. Mark ii. 27), the precept 
of keeping the Sabbath holy admits of some excep- 
tions with regard to menial work. Among these 
are all cases of urgent need, as, for instance, fire, 
floods, accidents of all kinds which require speedy 
help. Also works for the removal of public nui- 
sances: for instance, the opening of streets in win- 
ter in order to prevent danger, etc. " What man 
shall there be among you that hath one sheep: 
and if the same fall into a pit on the Sabbath 






The Sanctification of Sunday. 141 

day, will he not take hold of it and lift it up?" 
(Matt. xii. 11). 

The Church does not wish that God's blessings 
should be lost, or that the bread for which man has 
toiled in the sweat of his brow should perish. 
Therefore she gives permission to carry home the 
fruits of the field if they are in danger of being 
spoiled by bad weather. But in cases where this 
is feasible, it is a duty to obtain permission from 
the ecclesiastical authorities {i.e., the parish priest) ; 
permission of secular authority alone is not suffi- 
cient. The Council of Toledo, held in 1474, de- 
creed: "We command the faithful to abstain on 
Sundays and holydays from all servile work, and 
it shall not be allowed to any one to till his fields 
or to do any other manual or field labor, except in 
cases of urgent necessity, and then it shall not be 
done without the permission of the priest." 

It is a matter of course that even in these cases 
the work must be restricted to what is absolutely 
necessary, and that, as far as possible, the second 
commandment of the Church must be complied 
with. 

6. The Lord did not only appoint the Sunday to 
be a day of rest, He also blessed it and hallowed 
it. Therefore Sunday is a day of sanctification, 
and the Church commands us to sanctify ourselves 
by all the means she gives us for that purpose. 
First among these ranks the holy Mass, at which 



142 The Third Commandment of God. 

every Catholic Christian is bound to assist under 
pain of grievous sin. But of this we shall treat 
more fully in speaking of the second command- 
ment of the Church. 

The sermon also forms part of the public service. 
In it we hear the word of God which is " above 
thousands of gold and silver" (Ps. cxviii. 72). The 
word of God is a light to our paths (Ps. cxviii. 
105). It is "living and effectual, and more pierc- 
ing than any two-edged sword: and reaching unto 
the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints 
also, and the marrow, and is a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. iv. 12). 
The word of God not only instructs us, but we see 
the state of our soul reflected in it as in a mirror, 
so that we are able to sit in judgment on ourselves, 
and examine before God whether we are pleasing 
to Him, and walk according to the doctrine of 
Christ. This knowledge will teach us to have 
recourse to the holy sacraments, those greatest 
means of grace, in order to cleanse ourselves from 
our imperfections and strengthen ourselves for the 
journey of the coming week. In the office of Ves- 
pers we join with the Church principally in sing- 
ing the praises and glories of God. The Sun- 
day gives us the necessary leisure for redoubling 
our prayers, for contemplating the mysteries of our 
holy faith — for instance, in the Rosary — for gather- 
ing food for our souls from good books; it also 



"Ibe was subject to tbem."— St. Xufee it. 51. 




COPYRIGHT 1897, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS. 

" Bbsalom's beao stuck in tbe oafe Ubes ran up> *&n& 

striking bim, slew bim."— 2 IRings rviii. 9, 15* 

FOURTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 

"Honor thy father and thy mother." 

Reflection. — That children should obey their 
parents, and inferiors their superiors, is the will of 
God, who delegates His authority to parents over their 
children, to superiors over their inferiors, for, says 
St. Paul, " let every soul be subject to higher powers ; 
for there is no power but from God : and those that 
are, are ordained of God. Therefore he that re- 
sisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. 
And they that resist, purchase to themselves dam- 
nation." (Rom. xiii. 1,2.) 

Practice. — Let us act in the spirit of faith, viewing 
the authority of God in that of our parents and 
superiors, and imitating the obedience of our Model, 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who, when on earth, 
was subject to Mary and Joseph, and cheerfully sub- 
mitted to all the requirements of the Mosaic and 
civil law. 

Prayer. — my God, give me the grace always 
to obey my lawful superiors in the spirit of faith, as 
holding and representing Thy authority. O Mary, help 
me to obey all my superiors cheerfully for God's sake. 
Amen. 



The Sanctiftcation of Sunday. 143 

gives us an opportunity for doing various works of 
charity — for instance, visiting the sick. These are 
the blessings which the sanctification of Sunday 
brings with it. 

7. In the same manner as the Sunday rest may 
not be broken by servile work of the body, so the 
sanctification of the Sunday may not be destroyed 
by those works which may be called the servile 
works of the soul, because they are done by the 
servants of darkness and of the Evil One. To 
these belong all sinful actions. "Whosoever 
committeth sin is the servant of sin" (St. John 
viii. 34). 

He who commits sin on a Sunday may under 
certain circumstances transgress in a twofold man- 
ner, because he desecrates the Sunday. The sanc- 
tification of Sunday is more particularly destroyed 
by all boisterous games and amusements, dances, 
intemperance in eating and drinking, which lead to 
impurity and deliver the soul to perdition. How 
great an injury is inflicted on Almighty God and 
our dear Saviour if we desecrate His own day by 
sin instead of hallowing it. There are Christians 
who assist at Mass in the morning on Sundays and 
holydays, and in the afternoon they are no longer 
Christians but heathens. They are like the pagan 
soldiers, who in the court of Pilate bowed their 
knees in mockery before Our Saviour, and saluted 
Him with the words, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 



144 The Third Commandment of God. 

and then spat upon Him and struck His head with 
a reed (St. Matt, xxvii. 29, 30). 

Punishments, Threats, and Promises. 
Desecration of the Sabbath in the Old Covenant 
was put on a level with blasphemy, the most griev- 
ous sin of all. In the Book of Numbers (xv. 32- 
36) we read : 

"And it came to pass, when the children of Israel 
were in the wilderness and had found a man gather- 
ing sticks on the Sabbath day, that they brought 
him to Moses and Aaron and the whole multitude. 
And they put him into a prison, not knowing what 
they should do with him. And the Lord said to 
Moses: Let this man die, let all the multitude 
stone him without the camp. And when they had 
brought him out they stoned him, and he died as 
the Lord had commanded." 

Several times Moses, commissioned by God, urged 
upon the Israelites the sanctification of the Sun- 
day in the most emphatic manner. God said 
through him: "Keep you My Sabbath: for it is 
holy unto you: he that shall profane it shall be 
put to death : he that shall do any work in it, his 
soul shall perish out of the midst of his people" 
(Ex. xxxi. 14). 

The Lord promised to shed the most abundant 
blessings on those who sanctify the Sabbath : " Keep 
My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am 



The Sanctification of Sunday. 145 

the Lord. If you walk in My precepts, and keep 
My commandments, and do them, I will give you 
rain in due seasons, and the ground shall bring 
forth its increase, and the trees shall be filled with 
fruit. The threshing of your harvest shall reach 
unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto 
the sowing time : and you shall eat your bread to 
the full, and dwell in your land without fear" (Lev. 
xxvi. 2-5). "But if you will not yet for all this 
obey Me, I will chastise you seven times more for 
your sins, and I will break the pride of your stub- 
bornness, and I will make to you the heaven above 
as iron, and the earth as brass: your labor shall be 
spent in vain, the ground shall not bring forth her 
increase, nor the trees yield their fruit" (Ibid. 
18-20). 

The thought of the temporal reward or punish- 
ment alone should be a sufficient motive for us not 
to deprive God of the honor due to Him on His 
own day, but we should be still more stimulated 
by the heavenly reward which grows out of the sanc- 
tification of the Sunday, for the following prom- 
ises which God made to the Israelites are ad- 
dressed, with a deeper meaning, to the Christians 
as well : 

" I will set up My tabernacle in the midst of 
you, and My soul shall not cast you off. I will 
walk among you, and will be your God, and you 
shall be My people" (Lev. xxvi. n, 12). 
10 



1 46 The Third Commandment of God. 



Application. 

We must keep in mind above all that the hours 
which remain to us on Sundays after the fulfilment 
of our religious duties are most precious. Our 
free time, therefore, must not be spent in such a 
way that the impressions which we have received in 
Church are effaced; they should rather be strength- 
ened. The more we are obliged to occupy ourselves 
with worldly affairs during the week, the more im- 
portant it is to keep our soul recollected on Sundays. 
The Christian ought to refrain, therefore, on that 
day, not only from all sinful pastimes, but also from 
all noisy and distracting amusements which disturb 
the recollection of the mind. 

2. It is not good to leave it to chance how we 
shall spend our free time on Sunday; it is to be 
recommended to draw up a fixed rule which we ob- 
serve in its general outline on that day. Even a 
Christian in the world can do this if he is his own 
master and can dispose of his time. Such a well- 
regulated sanctification of the Sunday is the main- 
stay of Christian life. 

3. Above all, the Sunday should be for us a time 
of quiet entering into ourselves. One or two hours 
spent alone in meditating on the state of our soul, 
and making good resolutions for the coming week, 
and in contemplating God, would be a way of hal- 



The Sanctification of Sunday. 147 

lowing the Sunday which would bear the most pre- 
cious fruit for the soul. 



Examples, 

In the days of King Antiochus, who tried by 
most cruel measures to force the Jews to break the 
law, many that sought after judgment and justice 
went down into the desert. And they abode there 
with their children, and their wives, and their cattle. 
When the king's officers heard this they went with 
their soldiers towards them, and made war against 
them on the Sabbath day. And the Jews had taken 
refuge in the caves, but because it was the Sabbath 
they had not even stopped up the openings. When 
the soldiers of Antiochus came they did not defend 
themselves, but allowed themselves to be slain 
rather than break the Sabbath, and they perished 
with their wives and children to the number of a 
thousand persons (1 Mach. ii. 29-38). 

The inhabitants of Tarsus furnish us with an 
example of holy zeal to hear the word of God. 
They had assembled on the first day of the week to 
break bread, and Paul, who wished to depart on the 
following day, prolonged his preaching till mid- 
night. "Then going up and breaking bread and 
tasting, and having talked a long time to them 
until daylight, so he departed" (Acts xx. 11). 

See how the Christians of Troas put those tepid 



148 The Third Commandment of God. 

Catholics to shame who think they fulfil their re- 
ligious duties by hearing one single Mass on the 
Lord's day. 

Sanctification of the Sunday Among the 
Early Christians. 

St. Justin, martyr, gives us an account in his 
" Apology of Christianity" of how the early Chris- 
tians kept the Sunday. He says: " On the day 
called after the sun, all those who live in the town 
or in the country come together for an assembly. 
There the Acts of the Apostles or the writings of 
the Prophets are read as long as is deemed con- 
venient. When the reader has finished, the presi- 
dent [generally the bishop himself] holds a dis- 
course, in which he propounds the august doctrine 
contained therein, and invites the people to practise 
it. [We see, therefore, that the early Christians 
used to hear sermons.] Then we all rise together 
and pour forth our prayers. Whereupon bread 
and wine and water are brought [Offertory], and the 
president prays and gives thanks as well as he is 
able, and the people join in saying, Amen! [Pref- 
ace.] Of what has been blessed [Consecration] 
is then given to all those present and sent by 
the deacons to those absent [Communion]. The 
wealthy bring together of their possessions as much 
as seems good to them, and what has thus been col- 



Duties Enjoined by the Fourth Commandment. 149 

lected is deposed with the president; with it he 
supports orphans and widows, and others who 
through sickness or other causes have got into 
poverty or are in bonds, also strangers and guests." 
From this we see that the early Christians as- 
sisted at the holy Mass and at sermons, and per- 
formed works of charity. 

Zbc jfourtb Commandment. 

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou may est 
be long-lived in the land, which the Lord thy God 
will give thee. 

Duties Enjoined by the Fourth Commandment. 

The duties of man towards God are closely con- 
nected with his duties towards his neighbor and 
towards himself. By the word neighbor we mean 
the nearest persons who are allied with us by ties of 
kindred — above all, our parents and relatives; next, 
those who take the place of parents for us, i.e., 
foster-parents and masters ; then those who also be- 
long to the family, although in a more remote 
sense — servants. We have, moreover, duties towards 
those who take the place of God in Church and 
state, or their assistants and delegates. And here 
we may remark that all those persons towards whom 
we have duties have also duties towards us. If, 
however, these persons do not fulfil their duties 



150 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

towards us, this is no reason why we should follow 
their example. For we may not do wrong because 
we are wronged by others. 

Duties of Children. 

i. Children owe their parents honor in the first 
place. In order to impress this commandment on 
them, God has attached even temporal blessings or 
punishments to its observance or non-observance. 
He who honors his parents shall live long and 
prosper. " He that honoreth his mother is as one 
that layeth up a treasure. He that honoreth his 
father shall have joy in his own children, and in 
the day of his prayer he shall be heard" (Ecclus. iiL 
5, 6). "Honor thy father, in work and word, and 
all patience. That a blessing may come upon thee 
from him, and his blessing may remain in the latter 
end" (Ecclus. iii. 9, 10). 

We owe honor to our parents because they take 
the place of God for their children. He who de- 
spises his parents, despises Him who has chosen 
these persons to represent Him. This reverence 
must not be outward only, but we must respect our 
parents in our hearts, speak well of them, and 
excuse their faults. Outward reverence commands 
that we should be respectful to our parents, give 
them the place of honor, do not contradict them, 
and show our respect not only by our actions, but 



Duties of Children. 151 

also by our words. When parents grow old their 
children should bear their weaknesses with patience. 
" Son, support the old age of thy father, and grieve 
him not in his life: and if his understanding fail, 
have patience with him, and despise him not when 
thou art in thy strength: for the relieving of the 
father shall not be forgotten. For good shall be 
repaid to thee for the sin of thy mother" (Ecclus. iii. 
14-16). 

Children especially who have risen to high hon- 
ors, fame, etc., must not be ashamed of their parents 
or their low condition. " Remember thy father and 
thy mother, for thou sittest in the midst of great 
men : lest God forget thee in their sight" (Ecclus. 
xxiii. 18-19). 

Children remain children with regard to their 
parents, whatever age they may attain, or however 
mean the condition of their parents may be. 

2. Parents show a boundless love for their chil- 
dren from the moment they come into this world 
helpless little creatures. Father and mother spare 
no pain or trouble, no toil or sacrifice, to provide 
for their children, to feed and clothe them, and 
to nurse them in time of sickness. Day and night 
do they sacrifice to their children. This love, an 
image of the eternal love of God Himself, ought 
to awaken in children a love of gratitude, which 
should be both inward and sincere. Children 
ought to take pleasure in thinking of their parents; 



152 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

they ought to be grieved when they are sick or in 
trouble, and should pray earnestly for them. They 
ought to avoid everything that might afflict their 
parents, and endeavor to satisfy their slightest wish 
and spare them all annoyance. " Honor thy father, 
and forget not the groan ings of thy mother. Re- 
member that thou hadst not been born but through 
them: and make a return to them as they have 
done for thee" (Ecclus. vii. 29, 30). 

Gratitude for the innumerable benefits which chil- 
dren have received from their parents requires that 
they should render them all the assistance they 
stand in need of. They ought to help them in 
earning their daily bread, relieve them in poverty 
and want, provide for them and nurse them in old 
age and sickness, procure Christian burial for them 
after their death, and never cease to pray for them. 
"Of what an evil fame is he that forsaketh his 
father: and he is cursed of God that angereth his 
mother" (Ecclus. iii. 18). 

3. God has given the education of children into 
the hands of their parents, and for this reason 
children ought to be subject to their parents. They 
ought willingly and unhesitatingly to obey all just 
commands of their parents and receive their ad- 
monitions with deference; when they are punished 
they ought not resist nor grow bitter against their 
parents, who only do their duty in chastising them. 
Even when children are no longer under parental 






Duties of Children. 153 

authority they should consult their parents in all 
matters of importance, and follow their advice as 
far as possible. 

Children ought especially to consult their parents 
in their choice of a state of life, and remember that 
parents not only seek the welfare of their children, 
but also have greater experience than they. It is 
true that there are cases in which children may act 
contrary to the will of their parents in choosing a 
state of life, but these cases are not frequent, and 
it is seldom good not to follow the advice of parents. 
Tobias said to his son : " Hear, my son, the words 
of my mouth, and lay them as a foundation in thy 
heart" (Tob. iv. 22). 

4. As on the one hand temporal and eternal 
blessings are promised to children who honor their 
parents, so on the other unnatural children are 
threatened with the curse of God. 

" The eye that mocketh at his father, and that 
despiseth the labor of his mother in bearing him, 
let the ravens of the brooks pick it out, and the 
young eagle eat it" (Prov. xxx. 17). 

" He that striketh his father or mother shall be 
put to death. He that curseth his father or mother 
shall die the death" (Ex. xxi. 15-17). 

"The father's blessing establisheth the houses of 
the children : but the mother's curse rooteth up the 
foundation" (Ecclus. iii. 11). 

5. Although long life and prosperity have been 



154 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

promised to good children, it happens not unfre- 
quently that very excellent children, who are the 
joy of their parents, die in early youth, and we ask 
ourselves: How does this agree with God's prom- 
ises? Here we can only adore the inscrutable 
counsels of God. But we may justly say: These 
children have received the better part: true life 
has been given to them at an early age. They have 
been taken away from this world, and have thus 
been withdrawn from sin. They have been spared 
much trouble and suffering, and in the abode of 
eternal peace they are awaiting the mourning par- 
ents whom they have left behind. For the parents 
their death is an admonition to lead such lives that 
they may again meet their beloved ones who have 
gone before them. 

Examples. 

We see good sons in Sem and Japheth, who cov- 
ered their father's nakedness with averted faces. 
This filial act earned them their father's blessing, 
while Cham, the unnatural son of Noe, was cursed 
by him (Gen. ix. 2\ et sea.). Isaac followed his 
father without resistance, and allowed himself to be 
placed as a victim on the altar. In reward the 
promise which had been given to Abraham passed 
over to him, and from his seed sprang the Messias 
(Gen. xxii.). Joseph, the son of Jacob, was the joy 
of his father even in his parental home, wherefore 



Duties of Children. 155 

God did not forsake him in the time of his captiv- 
ity, but raised him to high honors. And when he 
was thus exalted, Joseph sent for his father to 
Egypt, and went in his chariot to meet him, and fell 
upon his neck, and embracing him, wept (Gen. xlvi. 
29). When the elder Tobias thought his last hour 
had came, he called his son, Tobias, and gave him a 
number of paternal exhortations. When he had 
finished, the younger Tobias said: "I will do all 
things, father, which thou hast commanded me" 
(Tob. v. 1). His obedience was rewarded by the 
protection of the Archangel Raphael and by great 
temporal prosperity. When the mother of Solomon 
came to see her son " the king arose to meet her, and 
bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a 
throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on 
his right hand" (3 Kings ii. 19). 

But the most wonderful example of a good child 
is the divine Child Jesus, of whom the Evangelist 
simply says: " He was subject to His parents" (St. 
Luke ii. 51). The obedience of a child contains 
all other virtues. On the other hand, we see a 
frightful punishment inflicted on Absalom for 
having rebelled against his father. In his flight 
his head was caught in an oak-tree, and the mule 
on which he rode passed on. And when he was 
thus hanging by his hair, Joab, the captain of David, 
thrust three lances into his heart and killed him 
(2 Kings xviii. 18). 



156 The Fourth Commandment of God. 



Duties of Parents. 

Children are a gift of God, and are confided to 
the lr parents in order that they may some day 
restore them to God. Parents ought to bring up 
their children for God and Our Saviour, and conse- 
quently take great care of them and guard them in 
body and soul. 

i. As children come into this world helpless, the 
first care they require concerns their body. Par- 
ents must watch over the life and health of their 
children, nurse them in time of sickness, and get 
medical advice for them; they must preserve them 
from everything which might injure their health, 
train them to work according to their ability; they 
must have them learn a useful trade or enter a pro- 
fession in which they can earn a respectable living 
It is praiseworthy in parents if they try to save 
money in an honest way and without neglecting 
other duties in order to leave something to their 
children. "If any man have not care of his own 
and especially of those of his house, he hath denied 
the faith and is worse than an infidel" (i Tim. v. 8). 
2. The care of the souls of children requires 
above all things that they should be baptized in 
good time. As the child displays evil inclinations 
even in its tenderest age, it ought to be trained to 
good habits and cured of evil ones even before it 



Duties of Parents. 157 

can be taught by words. Virtue is based on habit, 
and is in fact the acquired habit of good. Children 
ought also to be taught to pray at an early age, and 
to be instructed in the Catholic faith. Parents 
ought to watch over their children, to preserve them 
from all occasions of sin, to warn them lovingly and 
earnestly, to rebuke and chastise them if they fall 
into any fault. But above all they ought to give a 
good example to their children, so as not to become 
teachers of evil to them. In all cases they ought to 
give them good advice, especially in their choice of 
a state of life, in which they must not look to 
worldly gain, but to the good of their children's 
souls. They ought also to pray most earnestly for 
the eternal salvation of their children. 

" Instruct thy son, and he shall refresh thee and 
shall give delight to thy soul" (Prov. xxix. 17). 

i( Withhold not correction from a child: for if 
thou strike him with a rod he shall not die" (Prov. 
xxiii. 13, 14). 

"Hast thou children? Instruct them, and bow 
down their neck from their childhood" (Ecclus. 
vii. 25). 

3. The love which parents have for their children 
may not be a mere natural one: they must love 
their children for the sake of God, who has confided 
them to their care, and will require their souls from 
them. 

They must not therefore be too indulgent with 



1KB 



The Fourth Commandment of God. 



their children; they must not make them vain by 
over -much praise and fine clothes, nor let them be 
too dainty about their food and drink, nor pamper 
them by sleep and idleness. Especially they must 
try to break the self-will inborn in children by not 
indulging all their wishes and by never permitting 
them to do anything contrary to the law of God. 
Parents ought to love God more than their children. 
" He that loveth son or daughter more than Me is 
not worthy of Me" (St. Matt. x. 37). "Give thy 
son his way; and he shall make thee afraid: play 
with him, and he shall make thee sorrowful. Laugh 
not with him lest thou have sorrow, and at the last 
thy teeth be set on edge" (Ecclus. xxx. 9, 10). 

4. As parents should not be too indulgent with 
their children from false love, neither ought they 
treat them with too great severity, but join mildness 
with strictness, and not punish in anger. Children 
ought always to feel that they are punished because 
they have failed, not because father and mother are 
angry. " And you fathers, provoke not your children 
to anger: but bring them up in the discipline and 
correction of the Lord" (Eph. vi. 4). 

5. The duties of foster-children towards foster- 
parents are the same as those of children to their 
real parents, and vice versa, as long as the foster- 
parents take the place of the parents. Among fos- 
ter-parents we also number guardians. To them 
the fortune of their wards is intrusted, and they 



Duties of Parents. 159 

ought to administer it conscientiously, and restore 
it intact at the proper time. 

God takes orphans under His protection, and 
demands a strict account of those to whom they 
have been confided. " You shall not hurt a widow 
or an orphan. If you hurt them they will cry out 
to Me, and I will hear their cry, and My rage shall 
be enkindled" (Exod. xxii. 22 etseq.). 

Examples. 

Abraham provided that Isaac was not to marry 
a heathen woman, and sent his most trusted servant, 
who was ruler over all his goods, to his own coun 
try and to his kindred to get a wife for his son 
(Gen. xxiv.). When David lay on his death-bed he 
exhorted Solomon in these words: "Take thou 
courage and show thyself a man. And keep the 
charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, 
and observe His ceremonies and His precepts, and 
judgments and testimonies" (3 Kings ii. 2, 3). Holy 
Job used to rise every morning early and offer holo- 
causts for his children, for he said : " Lest perhaps 
my sons have sinned" (Job i. 5). On his death- 
bed Tobias addressed to the younger Tobias and 
his seven sons the following exhortation : " Serve 
the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that 
please Him : and command your children that they 
do justice and almsdeeds, and that they be mindful 



160 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

of God, and bless Him at all times in truth, and 
with all their power" (Tob. xiv. 10, n). On the 
contrary, God punished Heli, the high-priest, for 
having been too indulgent with his children, 
who took for themselves of the flesh which the 
people brought for sacrifice, and thus kept the peo- 
ple from sacrificing. Ophni and Phinees both 
perished in battle on the same day, and when their 
father heard the news he fell backwards from the 
stool on which he sat and broke his neck (i Kings 
iv. 1 8) 

Duties of Sisters and Brothers and of Relatives. 

Sisters and brothers are joined together by God 
through ties of blood to form a domestic commun- 
ity. They are, naturally speaking, the nearest 
neighbors to one another, and they ought to fulfil 
the commandment of charity in a pre-eminent de- 
gree. Therefore they ought to love one another 
and be kind to one another. As they live together 
under the same roof, they ought to keep peace 
among themselves. Sisters and brothers ought not 
to accuse one another falsely to their parents. If 
one of them has anything better than the others, 
he ought to share with them, and none should be 
jealous if another receives a present from the 
parents. The elder sisters and brothers ought to 
watch over the younger ones, that no harm may 



Duties of Sisters, Brothers and Relatives. 161 

happen to them; if they see any wrong in their 
sisters and brothers, they ought to instruct and 
warn them ; they ought to help them in their work, 
and to assist them in every necessity. They ought 
also to pray for their sisters and brothers no less 
than for their parents. "Behold how good and 
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in 
unity, for there the Lord hath commanded blessing 
and life for evermore" (Ps. exxxii. 1,3). 

Examples. 

Abraham said to Lot: "Let there be no quarrel, 
I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between 
my herdsmen and thy herdsmen : for we are breth- 
ren" (Gen. xiii. 8). Joseph forgave his brothers 
the grievous wrong they had done unto him, and 
loaded them with benefits (Gen. xlv. 21). The 
sister of Moses did not leave her little brother, 
but remained by the water-side and interceded 
with the daughter of the Egyptian king (Ex. 
ii. 4-8). 

On the other hand, God inflicted a dreadful pun- 
ishment on the fratricide Cain. He was to be a 
fugitive and a vagabond on earth, and when he 
tilled the ground it was not to yield him its fruit 
because it had drunk the blood of his brother ("Gen. 
iv. 11, 12). 
11 



1 62 The Fourth Commandment of God. 



Duties of Employers and Apprentices and of 
Teachers and Pupils* 

Employers and teachers are in some cases the 
representatives, in others the assistants, of parents. 
According to circumstances the duties of appren- 
tices and pupils are more or less the same as those 
of children towards their parents. 

i. Apprentices must respect their employers and 
obey their commands in all lawful things, and 
punctually and exactly follow out their instructions 
and guard their interests. 

2. Employers must watch over their apprentices. 
They must treat them with kindness and considera- 
tion. They must not exact too hard work from 
them, nor give them any work or occupation which 
would take them away too long from the trade they 
are to learn. 

3. The duties of pupils and teachers are similar 
to those of apprentices and employers. Pupils 
ought to love and respect in their teachers men who 
impart knowledge to them, and train them to be- 
come useful members of human society and to fulfil 
their vocation in life. They ought to love and es- 
teem them, to profit of the opportunity offered to 
them for improving themselves, to accept exhorta- 
tions and even punishments with the resolution not 
to relapse into the faults for which they were cor- 



Duties of Servants and of Employers. 163 

rected. They ought also to be grateful to them as 
long as they live. " My son, from thy youth up 
receive instruction, and even to thy gray hairs thou 
shalt find wisdom" (Ecclus. vi. 18). 

The teacher ought to see in the child he instructs 
a precious treasure confided to his care, not only to 
be initiated into worldly sciences, but to be trained 
for heaven. He ought, therefore, to assist parents 
and pastors in the work of education, make good 
use of the time s&t apart for tuition, conscientiously 
prepare his lessons, and give a good example to his 
pupils by word and deed. Thus by advancing his 
pupil he will increase his own merit for heaven. 
"A skilful man has taught many, and is sweet to 
his own soul" (Ecclus. xxxvii. 22). 

Duties of Servants and of Employers* 

Servants have duties towards their employers, 
towards the children of the house, and towards their 
fellow-servants. 

1 . Servants must, above all, honor and obey their 
employers. They must look upon them as their 
superiors, and carry out all their lawful injunctions. 
And they must not do so from necessity, but from 
the conviction that by faithfully fulfilling their 
duty they accomplish the task for which they were 
created. This task will be lightened by the con- 
sideration that it is easier to obey than to com- 



1 64 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

mand, and that not they, but their employers are 
responsible for the orders which are given. 

" Servants, be subject to your masters with all 
fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to 
the froward. For this is thanks-worthy, if for con- 
science towards God, a man endure sorrows, suffer- 
ing wrongfully" (i Peter ii. 18. t 9 ). 

Servants must willingly and promptly execute 
the commands of their employers, not only as long 
as they are under their eye, but also when they are 
left to themselves. They ought to be civil and 
obliging, and anxious for the interest of their em- 
ployers and watch over their property, and bear their 
caprices with patience. They must not touch the 
food they see about, or squander or give away any- 
thing, and not give alms out of their employers' 
property unless they have permission to do so. 
They must lead an orderly life. If they have any 
complaints to make, they must do so with modesty. 
They may have recourse to the authorities if they 
are wronged, but they may not take the law into 
their own hands. 

Their duties towards the children of their em- 
ployers are very sacred. They must watch over 
them and guard them from harm. They must instruct 
them to the best of their ability as far as they have 
been asked to do so. It would be a twofold sin 
if by their words or actions they were to lead 
children into sin or give them scandal. Towards 



Duties of Servants and of Employers. 165 

their fellow-servants they ought to be charitable and 
peaceable. They ought not to lower them in their 
employers' opinion or calumniate them, nor ought 
they to be on too familiar terms with them. 

If they see a serious neglect of duty in any fellow- 
servant, they may report it, but only if they are cer- 
tain that the neglect causes some real loss to their 
employer. Servants who are tempted to sin by 
their employers or fellow-servants must leave their 
service even out of time, if they cannot protect 
themselves against their assaults. 

" Exhort servants to be obedient to their masters, 
in all things pleasing, not gainsaying. Not de- 
frauding, but in all things showing good fidelity, 
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our 
Saviour in all things" (Tit. ii. 9, 10). 

Before accepting a new place, servants must 
make it a condition to be at liberty to fulfil their 
religious duties, and must not go into a house where 
this is not allowed. 

Employers must treat their servants with charity, 
and give them wholesome and sufficient food, and 
pay the wages agreed on without deducting anything. 
They must nurse them in sickness, not overburden 
them with work, and instruct and admonish them 
with gentleness. 

"Be not as a lion in thy house, terrifying them 
of the household, and oppressing them that are 
under thee" (Ecclus. iv. 35). 



1 66 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

" Masters, do to your servants that which is just 
and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in 
heaven" (Col. iv. i). 

" The laborer is worthy of his hire" (St. Luke 
x. 7 ). 

3. Employers have, moreover, obligations con- 
cerning the salvation of their servants. They must 
not only allow them to fulfil their religious duties, 
but they must see that they are fulfilled. They 
must watch over their servants, and when they find 
them going astray they must warn them with all 
kindness, but seriously, and not content themselves 
with only seeing that their work is done, for they 
would share in the sins of their inferiors if they 
passed them over in silence; they may not allow 
servants to give scandal to one another by cursing, 
or by immodest or irreligious discourses. But 
above all they ought to give a good example to their 
servants, in order to be able to give an account some 
day to that Master whose servants we all are. " In 
all things show thyself an example of good works" 
(Tit. ii. 7). 

Examples. 

We find a truly good servant in Eleazar, whom 
Abraham had sent into his native country to get 
a wife for Isaac. When he entered the house of 
Laban, and food was placed before him, he said: 
" I will not eat till I tell my message." And when 



Duties of Servants and of Employers. 167 

he had obtained permission to take Rebecca home 
with him, he would not be detained a single day, 
but hastened home on the morrow (Gen. xxiv. 33, 
56). While Joseph was serving in Putiphar's 
house, he drew down a blessing on his master, and 
the keeper of the prison was also blessed for the 
sake of Joseph (Gen. xxxix. 5, 23). When David 
was obliged to flee from Absalom, his servants did 
not leave him, but went with him and said : " What- 
ever our lord the king shall command, we thy 
servants will willingly execute" (2 Kings xv. 15). 
The servants of Naaman must have loved their 
master, for they called him " father." Eliseus had 
advised Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan. 
But Naaman was angry, and said: "Are not the 
rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of 
Israel ?" And he was going away with indignation. 
Then his servants came to him and said : " Father, 
if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, 
surely thou shouldst have done it: how much rather 
what he now hath said to thee: Wash and thou 
shalt be clean?" (4 Kings v. 13). So anxious were 
they for the welfare of their master. The servants 
of Cornelius spoke in well-deserved praise of their 
master, and said of him to St. Peter: "Cornelius a 
centurion, a just man and one that feareth God, 
and having good testimony from all the nation of 
the Jews" (Acts x. 22). The soldiers of the cen- 
turion of Capharnaum obeyed him implicitly, for 



1 68 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

he himself said of them : " I say to my servant, Do 
this, and he doeth it" (St. Matt. viii. 9). 

The centurion of Capharnaum himself is the 
model of a master who cares for the welfare of his 
servants. When his servant lay at home sick of 
the palsy, and was grievously tormented, he did not 
send messengers to Our Saviour, but went himself 
to implore His help (St. Matt. viii. 5). 

Duties Towards the Aged and Duties of the 
Aged Themselves, 

1. It is a grace of God to attain to an advanced 
age, and for this reason alone the aged have a 
claim to our reverence and respect. " Rise up be- 
fore the hoary head, and honor the person of the 
aged man" (Lev. xix. 32). 

Old people have, moreover, experience, and can 
give good advice. Therefore we should listen to 
their words and follow them. " Stand in the mul- 
titude of ancients that are wise, and join thyself 
from thy heart to their wisdom, that thou mayst 
hear every discourse of God, and the sayings of 
praise may not escape thee" (Ecclus. vi. 35). 

But because old age also brings weakness and 
helplessness with it, we ought to help and relieve 
the aged and treat them with kindness. "An an- 
cient man rebuke not: but entreat him as a father: 
. . . old women, as mothers" (1 Tim. v. 1,2). 



Duties Towards the Aged. 169 

2. The aged, on their part, ought to give a good 
example to the young; they ought to be detached 
from earthly things, and prepare well for death. 
"That the aged men be sober, chaste, prudent, 
sound in faith, in love, in patience: the aged 
women, in like manner, in holy attire, not false ac- 
cusers, not given to much wine, teaching well, that 
they may teach the young women to be wise" (2 
Tit. 2-4). 

As we wish to find charity and help in our old 
age, it is our OW1 1 interest to fulfil our duties towards 
the aged, and thus cultivate a good spirit among 
the young. " Despise not a man in his old age : for 
we also shall become old" (Ecclus. viii. 7). 

Examples. 

Simeon and Anna are two edifying examples of 
worthy old people. Simeon was just and devout, 
and waited for the consolation of Israel, and the 
Holy Ghost was in him. Therefore he received a 
revelation, that he would not die before he had seen 
the anointed of the Lord. When he had the hap- 
piness of holding Our Lord in his arms, he had 
no longer any wish on earth but to die in peace. 
Anna, the prophetess, was a widow of four-sc©re 
and four years. She departed not from the Temple, 
by fastings and prayers serving night and day. 
She was one of those who were waiting for the con- 



17° The Fourth Commandment of God. 

solation of Israel, and therefore she received the 
same reward as Simeon. (St. Luke ii. 25-28.) 

Duties Towards the Authorities, and Duties of 
the Authorities Themselves. 

There are ecclesiastic and civil authorities. Our 
duties towards either are similar to those towards 
our parents : we owe them respect, love, and obe- 
dience. 

1. Ecclesiastical authorities are: the Pope, the 
bishop of the diocese in which we live, our pastor, 
i.e., the parish priest or his vicar, our confessor, 
and, in a wider sense, all priests. 

We owe reverence to all priests because of their 
high office and their priestly dignity, but we ought 
to honor those especially who are our immediate 
superiors. 

We must listen with humility to their instruc- 
tions and exhortations, receive the means of grace 
of the Church with gratitude from their hands, 
pray for them, and help both with our alms and in 
any other practical way in our power in all they re- 
quire for the service of the Church and for their 
own maintenance. " Honor God with all thy soul, 
and give honor to the priests" (Ecclus. vii. 2>l)- 

Catholic priests are in a special way the repre- 
sentatives of God, for to them even more than 
to the priests of the Old Covenant do the following 



Duties Towards the Authorities. 171 

words apply : " Neither doth any man take the 
honor to himself, but he that is called by God as 
Aaron was" (Heb. v. 4). Therefore we may not 
despise the sacerdotal dignity even in unworthy 
and imperfect priests. 

2. It is the duty of ecclesiastical authorities to 
propagate true teaching in faith and morals; to 
watch over the purity of doctrine; to administer the 
sacraments according to the necessity, desire, and 
worthiness of the members of their flock ; to offer the 
holy sacrifice of the Mass at the proper time; 
to give a good example to the souls confided to 
their care ; to instruct the erring with gentleness, 
and to apply the penalties of the Church to the ob- 
stinate. They ought to pray for the living and the 
dead, and do good to the best of their powers. 
" Giving no offence to any man, that our ministry 
be not blamed : but in all things let us exhibit our- 
selves as the ministers of God" (2 Cor. vi. 3, 4). 

3. The secular authority, i. e., the head of the 
state, possesses power given him by God, and he 
causes it to be executed by his delegates in prov- 
inces, districts, and parishes. Citizens ought to 
honor and acknowledge this power, and to submit to 
it in all things lawful. "Let every soul be subject 
to higher powers : for there is no power but from 
God: and those that are, are ordained of God" 
(Rom. xiii. 1). 

4. It is the duty of citizens not only to keep 



172 The Fourth Commandment of God. 

faith with the head of the state, but to defend him 
against hostile attacks, to avoid all opposition and 
rebellion themselves, to prevent it in others, to ren- 
der all obligatory service, to pay the taxes of the 
country, and to obey the laws. "Render then to all 
men their dues: tribute, to whom tribute is due: 
custom, to whom custom" (Rom. xiii. 7). " He that 
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. 
And they that resist, purchase to themselves damna- 
tion" (Rom. xiii. 2). 

Citizens ought, moreover, to pray for the civil 
superiors and rulers, that the Lord may enlighten 
them to govern with wisdom and justice. The 
Apostle teaches: "Fear God. Honor the king" (1 
St. Peter ii. 17). 

" I desire, therefore, first of all that supplica- 
tions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be 
made for all men: for kings and all that are in 
high stations" (1 Tim. ii. 1, 2). 

But civil laws which are in contradiction with 
the law of God may not be obeyed. " We ought to 
obey God rather than men" (Acts v. 29). 

5. It is the duty of secular rulers to govern with 
mildness, wisdom, and fatherly care. They ought 
to guard the life and property of their fellow-citi- 
zens, and deal out right and justice equally to rich 
and poor. The government ought to administer 
the finances of the state with economy, and not 
impose more duties and taxes than are necessary 



Duties Totvards the Authorities. 173 

for supplying the wants of the community. Above 
all, they ought not to touch the religious liberty of 
the citizens; they ought to protect Church property, 
to abstain from any interference with the privileges 
and possessions of the Church, and give a good 
example of a moral and upright life. 

Rulers are to remember that they are the servants 
of God; that they rule in His name, and will have 
to give an account to Him some day. Therefore 
Solomon exhorts them thus : " Hear, therefore, ye 
kings, and understand: learn, ye that are judges of 
the ends of the earth : for power is given you by 
the Lord, and strength by the Most High, who will 
examine your works, and search out your thoughts. 
Because, being ministers of His kingdom, you have 
not judged rightly, not kept the law of justice, nor 
walked according to the Will of God. Horribly 
and speedily will He appear to you: for a most 
severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule" 
(Wisd. vi. 2-7). 

Examples. 

When King David had to fly from Absalom, 
many people accompanied him, and among others 
Ethai the Gethite, who had only joined David on 
the day before. David exhorted him to go back 
and to look after himself and his brethren. But 
Ethai answered: "As the Lord liveth, and as my 
lord the king liveth: in what place soever thou 



174 TJir Fourth Commandment of God. 

shalt be, my lord king, either in death, or in life, 
there will thy servant be" (2 Kings xv. 21). 

And when David had left the desert and was 
come to the camp, Sobi the son of Naas of Rabbath 
of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of 
Ammihel of Lodabar, and Berzellai the Galaadite 
of Rogelim, brought him beds, and tapestry, and 
earthen vessels, and wheal, and barley, and meal, 
and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and fried 
pulse, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and fat 
calves: and they gave to David and the people that 
were with him, to eat: for they suspected that the 
people were faint with hunger and thirst in the 
wilderness (2 Kings xvii. 27-29). 

Our Lord did not only teach, "Give unto Caesar 
the things that are Caesar's" (St. Matt. xxii. 21), 
but he paid the tribute money for himself and St. 
Peter (St. Matt. xvii. 23 et seq.). 

Jesus Sirach tells us of King Ezechias : " Ezechias 
did that which pleased God, and walked valiantly 
in the way of David his father, which Isaias, the 
great prophet, and faithful in the sight of God, had 
commanded him" (Ecclus. xlviii. 25). 

And of Josias he writes : " The memory of Josias 
is like the composition of a sweet smell : sweet as 
honey in every mouth. He was directed by God 
unto the repentance of the nation, and he took 
away the abominations of wickedness. And he 
directed his heart towards the Lord, and in the 



Duties Towards the Authorities. 175 

days of sinners he strengthened godliness" (Ecclus. 
xlix. 1-4). 

Holy Scripture gives a similar testimony of King 
Josaphat : " And he set judges of the land in all 
the fenced cities of Juda, in every place. And 
charging the judges, he said : Take heed what you 
do: for you exercise not the judgment of man, but 
of the Lord: and whatsoever you judge, it shall re- 
dound to you. Let the fear of the Lord be with 
you, and do all things with diligence: for there is 
no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of 
persons, nor desire of gifts. In Jerusalem also 
Josaphat appointed Levites, and priests, and chiefs 
of the families of Israel, to judge the judgment and 
the cause of the Lord for the inhabitants thereof. 
And he charged them, saying: Thus shall you do 
in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a per- 
fect heart. Every cause that shall come to you of 
your brethren, that dwell in their cities, between 
kindred and kindred, wheresoever there is question 
concerning the law, the commandment, the cere- 
monies, the justifications: show it them, that they 
may not sin against the Lord, and that wrath may 
not come upon you and your brethren: and so 
doing you shall not sin. And Amarias the priest, 
your high-priest, shall be chief in the things 
which regard, God: and Zabadias the son of Is- 
mahel, who is ruler in the house of Juda, shall be 
over those matters which belong to the king's office: 



176 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

and you have before you the Levites for masters, 
take courage, and do diligently, and the Lord will 
be with you in good things" (2 Paral. xix. 5-1 1). 

Gbe tfiftb Commandment. 

Thou shalt not kill. 

Sins Against the Physical Life of Our Neigh- 
bor. 

The fifth commandment forbids us in general to 
injure our neighbor in the life of his body or of his 
soul. On the contrary, it enjoins upon us to wish 
and even to procure for him all that can further 
his physical or spiritual well-being. The above 
precept and prohibition concerning our fellow-men 
is the same with regard to ourselves, and entails 
various duties both towards the body and soul of 
our neighbor and towards our own body and soul. 
These duties are unfortunately infringed in mani- 
fold ways, and the transgressions against the fifth 
commandment accordingly take the most various 
shapes. 

The highest earthly possession of man is life, 
because when life ceases all other earthly posses- 
sions cease for him. Life is a gift of God, which 
nobody may touch, not even the owner himself. It 
is the means of attaining the destination willed for 
us by God, who alone is the Master of life and 



Sins Against the Life of Our Neighbor. 177 

death. "For none of us liveth to himself: and no 
man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we 
live unto the Lord : or whether we die, we die unto 
the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or whether 
we die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. xiv. 7, 8). 

He who touches the life of a human creature inter- 
feres with the will of God, inflicts pain on the per- 
son he injures, prevents him from fulfilling his 
destiny, and robs him not of the life of the body 
only, but possibly of the life of the soul, for the 
soul which he hurries out of this world may be 
quite unprepared to meet its Judge. He moreover 
inflicts a serious injury on human society in general, 
and on the family in particular. 

1. The fifth commandment prohibits, in the first 
place, murder, i.e., the voluntary and premeditated 
slaying of a human creature. 

This sin belongs to the four sins crying to 
heaven for vengeance, and has been designated 
as such by God Himself. "The voice of thy 
brother's blood crieth to Me from the earth," God 
said to Cain, the first murderer (Gen. iv. 10). 
This sin must be atoned for by the blood of the 
murderer, who has forfeited his own life by com- 
mitting it. 

" Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood 
shall be shed : for man was made to the image of 
God" (Gen. ix. 6). 

There are some aggravated kinds of murder: 



178 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

parricide, matricide, fratricide, murder of a hus- 
band or of a priest, also murder committed under 
aggravating circumstances— for instance, murder 
with robbery, and assassination. 

Homicide, i.e., the involuntary and unpremedi- 
tated slaying of a person, is different from murder. 
The gravity of this sin depends on the circum- 
stances under which it is committed. So, for in- 
stance, the killing of a person in anger is always a 
grave and abominable crime, but if the author of 
the deed has been provoked by the person he slew, 
this is considered an attenuating circumstance. 

Not only those actions are sinful which cause 
death, but every voluntarily inflicted injury or ill- 
treatment of our neighbor. 

If a man, although not committing any of these 
sins himself, charges another, or bribes him by 
money or promises, or induces or incites him to do 
so, he commits as great a sin as if he had done the 
deed by his own hand. He is bound to repair all 
loss accruing from it as if he himself had killed, 
struck, or wounded the injured person. If any one 
ill-treats or wounds another in such a way that 
he must be put under medical treatment, or is dis- 
abled for work, he is obliged to make restitution, to 
pay damages, and to defray all expenses incurred 
in consequence of his action. If a man kills 
another who leaves children, grandparents, parents, 
or brothers and sisters who depended on the de- 



Sins Against the Life of Our Neighbor. 179 

ceased, he is bound to make an adequate provision 
for them out of his own means. 

2. As the violation of our neighbor's body is 
such a grievous sin that the author of it may for- 
feit his own life, nay, even his soul, it stands to 
reason that everything which may lead to this sin 
is forbidden for the Christian. Above all he must 
shun all those occasions where his passions are 
heated, and where he forgets himself so far that he 
is no longer master of himself. Such are quarrels, 
fights, drinking, and bad company. " Be not a 
friend to an angry man, and do not walk with a 
furious man: lest, perhaps, thou learn his ways 
and take scandal to thy soul" (Prov. xxii. 24, 25). 
"Wine and women make wise men fall off, and 
shall rebuke the prudent" (Ecclus. xix. 2). 

3. There are many other sins by which we can 
injure our neighbor in his body. Everything, for 
instance, which injures our neighbor's health is a 
sin. Of this sin all those are guilty who sell un- 
wholesome and adulterated victuals, food, or drink; 
doctors who treat patients although they are con- 
scious of being ignorant of their disease and its 
remedies, and from jealousy or pride will not con- 
sult other physicians, or who do not regularly visit 
their patients, especially when these are poor and 
cannot pay them highly; furthermore, nurses who 
do not properly look after their patients, act con- 
trary to the doctor's injunctions, and make patients 



i8o The Fifth Commandment of God. 

suffer by this neglect; children's nurses sin in this 
way who do not properly attend to the children 
confided to them and do not watch over them care- 
fully; also those who recommend and sell to the 
sick remedies which they know to be of no efficacy, 
or even injurious. The amount of guilt in these 
cases depends on the injury caused, and on the bad 
intention with which the sin is committed. 

We are not only forbidden to injure our neigh- 
bor by actions, we may not even have evil thoughts 
against him in our heart, and still less revile him 
by words. 

4. There are three cases in which it is lawful to 
kill deliberately, viz., in executing a judicial sen- 
tence, in war, and in self-defence. But even in 
these cases certain principles must be followed. 

A judge may only pronounce sentence of death 
in cases where the law inflicts capital punishment, 
and where the letter of the law is quite clear and 
explicit. The crime itself must be irrefragably 
proved, so that no doubt can be entertained about 
its commission. 

In war an attack may only be made on an armed 
enemy drawn up for battle, or refusing to surrender 
during flight, but not on those who are defenceless 
or ask for quarter. 

Self-defence should, properly speaking, be limited 
to the defence of our own lives. It is allowed, 
however, to kill robbers, burglars, and dangerous 



Sins Against the Life of Our Neighbor. 181 

thieves in order to protect our property, that is to 
say, when they are caught in the act. 

" If a thief be found breaking open a house or 
undermining it, and be wounded so as to die : he 
that slew him shall not be guilty of blood" (Ex. 
xxii. 2). 

" He that taketh away the bread gotten by sweat 
is like him that killeth his neighbor" (Ecclus. 
xxxiv. 26). 

It is therefore, not lawful to kill a thief or a 
robber if our life is not in danger, or if we are 
only afraid of sustaining some slight loss in our 
property : for instance, if an orchard were invaded 
at night, or if there were any other way of secur- 
ing the thief. 

5. A different way again of killing or wounding 
another is the duel. Two persons meet after the 
day and hour and the arms to be used have been 
agreed on, and fight till one of them is either 
killed or wounded or disabled. Such a combat is 
always a sin, even when the combatants labor un- 
der that fatal delusion that an insult to their honor 
can only be blotted out by a duel. Such an under- 
taking is a criminal interference with the right of 
God, who says, "Revenge to Me" (Rom. xii. 19), 
and with the prerogative of the authorities, whose 
duty and business it is to punish crime. A duel 
would only be lawful in one case, viz., if the au- 
thorities were to command it in order to avoid war, 



1 82 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

or if by this method a war could be decided, as 
was the case in the combat between David and Go- 
liath (1 Kings xvii.). 

The Church lays the most heavy penalties on 
duelling, all who take part in a duel, not only the 
duellists themselves, but also the witnesses, those 
who undertake to carry the challenge, those who in 
any way favor or further a duel for which time and 
hour have been settled beforehand, and even the 
spectators, are excluded from the communion of the 
Church; and to a person killed in a duel Christian 
burial is denied, even if he dies in penitent dispo- 
sitions. The Council of Trent calls the duel an 
"abominable custom, introduced at the instigation 
of the devil that he may compass the ruin of the 
soul through the bloody death of the body." 

6. It is also homicide to cause abortion. Those 
who perpetrate this crime, as well as those who 
help in it and abet it, fall under the ban of excom- 
munication. 

7. We may injure our neighbor in his life or in 
his health by causing him violent emotions, sudden 
fright or terror. How many foolish practical jokes 
have been played, in consequence of which people 
have fallen sick or even died with fright and fear! 
We can also slowly undermine the health of a per- 
son by mortifications, outbursts of anger, malicious 
words, by giving them bad or insufficient food, by 
assigning them unhealthy dwelling-places, by deny- 



" g)av>to saio to Hbisai : TftiH btm not/'-t Iftings nvi. 0. 




5E.H BRUTHERSo 



"Uberefore cuvseo sbalt tbou be upon tbe eartb."— ©en. i*». if, 
FIFTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 



THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 

"Thou shalt not kill." 

Reflection. — To keep the fifth commandment, we 
should strive to carry out the directions of our divine 
Saviour and of the holy man Tobias. "See that thou 
never do to another." said Tobias to his sen, "what 
thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another." 
(Tobias iv. 16.) "All things whatsoever you would 
that men should do to you,"' says Our Lord, " do you 
also to them." (Matt. vii. 12.) And again: "As 
you would that men should do to you, do you also to 
them in like manner." (Luke vii. 31.) As it is our 
duty to avoid all injury to the health and life of our 
body and soul, so also we should carefully refrain from 
treating others harshly, from all ill-feeling, and especi- 
ally from injuring me soul of our neighbor by bad 
example. 

Practice. — Let us bear patiently with the short- 
comings of our fellow-men, overlook their faults, and 
readily forgive their offences against us, so that we 
may claim forgiveness from God whenever we say 
this beautiful. 

Prayer. — Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
those who trespass against us. my God, I forgive 
ali men. deign to forgive me also. O Mary, obtain 
for me the spirit of true charity. Amen 



Sins Against the Life of Our Neighbor. 183 

ing them necessary care and attendance, by con- 
tinued ill-usage, although the latter may not cause 
immediate injury in each separate instance. These 
kinds of very grievous sins, which are no better 
than murder, are committed by children who feel 
it as a burden to provide for their parents, and 
who deal out what they are obliged to give them in 
scanty measure, of bad quality, and with an ill-will, 
and make them feel that they are unwelcome to 
them ; by step-parents who try in this way to get rid 
of the children of a first marriage in order to obtain 
the fortune they possess, or which will fall to them 
later on; by husbands and wives who are tired of 
each other and shorten each other's lives ]ay con- 
tinued ill-treatment. 

Sorrow, heartbreak, grief, affliction, anger, etc., 
embitter and shorten our days, and those who 
cause them are often worse than murderers, for a 
murderer often repents immediately after the deed, 
while ill-usage is a deliberate, prolonged, mali- 
cious, slow method of killing or inflicting wounds. 

" He that stealeth anything from his father or from 
his mother: and saith this is no sin, is the partner 
of a murderer" (Prov. xxviii. 24), 

3. But besides all these the fifth commandment 
forbids all that could lead to the violation of our 
neighbor's life or body, especially enmity and 
hatred, strife, abuse, and contempt of our neigh- 
bor — everything, in short, which excites anger or ill- 



184 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

feeling in man, and makes him forgetful of the law 
of God. It is from these evils that killing and 
murder spring, and an offensive word is often a 
little spark which grows into a flame and causes 
infinite mischief. How beautifully it is said in 
Ecclesiasticus: 

"Remember thy last things, and let enmity 
cease" (Ecclus. xxviii. 6). 

" Remember the fear of God and be not angry 
with thy neighbor. Remember the covenant of 
the Most High, and overlook the ignorance of thy 
neighbor. Refrain from strife, and thou shalt di- 
minish thy sin: for a passionate man kindleth 
strife, and a sinful man will trouble his friends, 
and bring in debate in the midst of them that are 
at peace" {Ibid. 8-1 1). 

" A hasty contention kindleth a fire : and a hasty 
quarrel sheddeth blood" {Ibid. 13). 

A very common and most sinful way of causing 
enmity is tale-bearing. It consists in somebody 
repeating to another what a third person has said 
of him, and causes much bitterness. Very often 
lies are added to these malicious tales, and make 
the sin doubly grievous. " The whisperer and the 
double-tongued is accursed : for he hath troubled 
many that were at peace" (Ecclus. xxviii. 15). 

9. What we are not allowed to do to our neigh- 
bor we are not allowed to wish for him. As God 
takes the will for the deed in the case of a man 






Sins Against One s Own Life. 185 

who wishes to do a good work but is not able to, 
so hatred and revenge in a man's heart are sins 
equal to bloodshed. " Whosoever shall say, Thou 
fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire" (St. Matt, 
v. 22). 

Examples. 

God Himself pronounced the sentence against 
Cain, the first murderer (Gen. iv. 11, 12). The 
Egyptian king who caused the male children of the 
Israelites to be thrown into the water was drowned 
himself in the sea with his whole army (Ex. i. 22). 
When the Jews had entered the Land of Promise, 
they took King Adonibezec of Bezec prisoner and 
cut off his fingers and toes. And he said : " Sev- 
enty kings having their fingers and toes cut off, 
gathered up the leavings of the meat under my 
table : as I have done, so hath. God requited me" 
(Judges, i. 7). "The bloody and the deceitful the 
Lord will abhor" (Ps. v. 7). 

Sins Against One's Own Life* 

The sins against one's own life are: Suicide 
and self-mutilation, and suicide in a refined form, 
or shortening one's own life, foolhardiness, desire 
of death from weariness of life. 

1. Intentional and premeditated suicide is one 
of the most heinous sins against God, against hu- 
man society, and against self. God has called man 



1 86 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

into being; He has appointed him a certain state 
and condition to live in, and given him a destina- 
tion. The self-murderer interferes with the right 
and the will of God; he withdraws from the just 
claims which human society has upon him; he de- 
prives himself of the opportunity of working for 
the good of his fellow-men, and plunges his soul 
into eternal perdition, because his sin cannot be 
repented of, nor expiated, nor in any way atoned for. 

The causes which drive men to suicide are want 
of faith and confidence. He who believes in a just 
God, who punishes evil, does not kill himself, for 
he knows that both in life and death he is in the 
hands of God, the almighty and all-seeing Judge. 
For the Lord says: "There is no other God be- 
sides Me: I will kill and I will make to live: I 
will strike, and I will heal, and there is none that 
can deliver out of My hand" (Deut. xxxii. 39). 

And although sickness and bodily pain, poverty, 
want, and even fear for the sins of our past life 
were to come upon us, we know as Christians that 
no cross is so heavy that we cannot bear it with the 
grace of God, no sin so heinous that it cannot be 
forgiven when the sinner repents of it, amends his 
life, and seeks refuge with Jesus. This knowledge 
makes us patient, and prevents us from throwing 
down our cross and laying hands on ourselves. 
Suicide is also a great scandal, and the Church 
justly denies Christian burial to the self-murderer. 



Sins Against One's Oivn Life. 187 

The Church judges more mildly or even excuses 
those self-murderers who attempt their life in a 
state of insanity or similar derangement of the 
mind, into which they have fallen without their 
own fault, but not those who kill themselves out of 
fear of punishment after a dissipated and sinful 
life, or after the commission of a crime. 

2 Self-mutilation, i. e., unnecessary and wanton 
injury done to one's own limbs, is also a grievous 
sin; the magnitude of this crime depends on the 
malice of the intention with which it is done and 
on the consequences which it causes. For man is 
not the master, but only the guardian of his body; 
God made man what he is. We are allowed, how- 
ever, to sacrifice a limb by amputation in order to 
preserve life, because a part is not as precious as 
the whole. For this reason doctors may perform 
an operation which endangers life in cases where 
beyond doubt life would be lost without the opera- 
tion. But the consent of the patient must always 
be obtained. " Know you not that your members 
are the temples of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, 
whom you have from God, and you are not your 
own?" (1 Cor. vi. 19). 

3. There is another kind of suicide which con- 
sists in shortening our life by dissipation or exces- 
sive passions. It is committed by the intemperate, 
the profligate, the choleric, and also by those who 
injure their health by giving themselves up to im- 



1 88 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

moderate sadness, and by worrying and tormenting 
themselves. " Sadness hath killed many, and there 
is no profit in it. Envy and anger shorten a man's 
days, and pensiveness will bring old age before 
the time" (Ecclus. xxx. 25, 26). 

4. Fool-hardiness, or undertaking an action in 
which we risk our life, is a sin even when the enter- 
prise succeeds, because it might have failed. It is 
chiefly committed from recklessness and bravado, 
from boasting and vainglory, by climbing, jump- 
ing, swimming, and other displays of our physical 
powers. This is often done for a bet. Those bets 
are especially sinful where people try to show how 
much they can eat or drink in a given time. Such 
fool-hardiness is a twofold sin, because it is an 
offence against temperance as well. " Go not 
after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own will. 
If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will make 
thee a joy to thy enemies" (Ecclus. xviii. 30, 31). 

On the contrary, daring deeds are allowed and 
even commanded in the exercise of the duties of 
our state : for instance, for soldiers who are obliged 
to expose themselves to the attack of the enemy, for 
priests, for doctors and sick nurses in infectious 
diseases, and altogether in the practice of works of 
charity and for the prevention of a serious evil — for 
instance, to save human life incases of fire or ship- 
wreck, etc. It is a duty to sacrifice one's own life 
for the confession of the true faith, because in 



Sins Against One s Own Life. 189 

doing so we save the life of the soul, which would 
be lost by the denial of our faith. " He that 
loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his 
life in this world keepeth unto life eternal" (St. 
John xii. 25). 

5. We can moreover sin very grievously by de- 
siring death from impatience, melancholy, and de- 
spair over the pains and miseries of human life. 
The cause of this sin is likewise want of confi- 
dence; it shows discontent with the will of God, 
murmuring against His divine ordinances. The 
Prophet Jonas was guilty of it when he wished to 
die on seeing that Nineve was not destroyed, and 
when a worm struck the ivy which shaded him so 
that it withered (Jonas iv. 7, 8). 

On the other hand, we may wish for death from 
love of God, so as not to offend Him any more, or 
from a desire to be in heaven with Him. The 
Apostle Paul was filled with this desire when he 
exclaimed- "I desire to be dissolved and to be 
with Christ!" (Phil. i. 23). 

Examples. 

All sins against one's own life proceed from 
infidelity, love of pleasure, disappointed ambi- 
tion, or other sinful motives. Here we may say: 
As the tree, so the fruit. This applies principally 
to suicide. Saul killed himself, because he had 
lost a battle and was afraid of being laughed at (1 



190 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

Kings xxxi. 4). Achitophel gave David an advice 
which the king did not heed, but rather followed 
the advice of Chusai, another friend, and Achito- 
phel was so incensed at this that he hanged him- 
self (2 Kings xvii. 23). Ptolomee, a general of 
Eupator, was accused of treachery by the latter, 
and was conscious of his guilt. Out of fear of the 
punishment which awaited him, he put an end to 
his life by poison (2 Mach. x. 13). Judas hanged 
himself in despair, because he thought his sin was 
too great to be forgiven (St. Matt, xxvii. 5). We 
see, therefore, that this sin is only the result of other 
preceding sins or of a sinful state. 

Sins Against the Life of the Soul. 

The fifth commandment does not only forbid to 
violate the life of the body, but it prohibits every- 
thing which could injure the life of the soul and 
deprive it of sanctifying grace. This is done by 
scandal, /.<?., every word or action by which either 
our own soul or the soul of our neighbor sustains 
any injury. The former is called taking, the lat- 
ter, giving scandal. 

1. Giving scandal means being the cause or occa- 
sion of sin in others by sinful words or works, or 
by some omission of duty. 

The magnitude of the sin of scandal is deter- 
mined by: 






Sins Against the Life of the Soul. 191 

a. The gravity of the sin into which another is 
led. So, for instance, it is not as great a sin to 
induce any one to steal fruit from an open orchard 
as to make him take part in a burglary. 

b. On the number of persons who are or may be 
led into sin. Thus a man who in a public assem- 
bly incites the masses to disobey the laws of the 
state and rebel against the government sins more 
grievously than another who only tries to influence 
others occasionally and individually in the same 
way. 

c. By the malicious intention of the person who 
gives scandal. For instance, it is a grievous sin 
to mock at religious things and pose as an unbe- 
liever from mere recklessness, but a far more griev- 
ous one to endeavor to rob another of his faith by 
pernicious words and teaching. 

d. On the authority and power of the person who 
gives scandal. The master of a house, whose 
example influences his inferiors, the ofhcial, the 
priest, the sovereign, who give scandal to those 
under their charge, sin much more grievously than 
ordinary persons, because their example is followed 
by their servants, their inferiors, their parishioners, 
their subjects. 

Scandal is principally given by: 

a. Those who in presence of others hold sinful 
and especially immodest discourses, sing indecent 
songs, by which they excite evil desires and famil- 



19- The Fifth Commandment of God. 

iarize their neighbor with sin, and weaken or de- 
stroy holy chastity; moreover, those who ridicule 
the doctrines of the Church, mock her practices 
and institutions, revile her priests, and lead others 
to infidelity. 

b. Those who spread immodest or infidel writ- 
ings, exhibit pictures of the same kind, or allow 
their children to look at them ; dress immodestly, 
or allow their children to do so. 

c. Those who arrange immodest dances, induce 
others to drink and gamble, give them occasion for 
illicit meetings, etc. 

d. Those who deter others from fulfilling their 
religious duties or make it impossible for them to 
do so; masters and employers who do not allow 
their servants to go to church on Sunday or fulfil 
their Easter duties; housewives who place meat on 
the table on Friday, etc. 

The worst scandal is that which is given to the 
innocent by teaching them sin, bringing them up 
to it, committing it with them or in their presence, 
whether it be by words, pictures, or actions. Per- 
sons who are guilty of such scandal are justly 
called the accomplices of the devil, for they help 
him to catch souls in his net and to lead them to 
ruin. They undo the work of Redemption, deprive 
the precious blood of Jesus Christ of its efficacy, 
and rob heaven of the souls for whom Our Saviour 
suffered. Such scandal-givers are guilty of all the 



Sins Against the Life of the Soul. 193 

sins which are committed by those whom they have 
seduced, and which would not be committed with- 
out their evil influence. 

Over such Our Lord exclaims : " He that shall 
scandalize one of these little ones that believe in 
Me, it were better for him that a millstone should 
be hanged about his neck and that he should 
be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the 
world because of scandals. For it must needs 
be that scandals come : but nevertheless, woe to 
that man by whom the scandal cometh" (St. Matt, 
xviii. 6, 7). 

The principal reason why scandal is such a 
grievous sin is that he who causes it is utterly in- 
capable of repairing the harm he has done. It is 
not in his power to reclaim those whom he has 
corrupted, were he ever so willing to do so. He 
cannot even calculate the amount of harm he has 
caused, for he does not know how many others may 
have been seduced by those whom he first seduced. 
This holds good especially of the authors of infidel 
or immoral writings who sow perdition among a 
whole nation. To them the following words apply : 
" An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in 
his heart he lieth in wait, to throw thee into a pit" 
(Ecclus. xii. 15). 

The different ways of giving scandal are con- 
tained in the nine ways of sharing another's sin, 
of which we shall treat later. 
13 



194 The Fifth Commandment of God, 

2. He who through culpable ignorance or crimi- 
nal weakness allows himself to be led into sin takes 
scandal. This sin is committed by those who from 
idle or criminal curiosity read bad books or look at 
immodest representations. All those things which 
have been the cause or occasion of sin, as, for in- 
stance, bad books, newspapers, magazines, persons 
who hold evil discourses, or are engaged in sinful 
pursuits, etc., must be put away and avoided to the 
utmost of our power, as we shall explain more fully 
when speaking of the Sacrament of Penance. 

3. A special kind of scandal is the so-called 
Pharisaical scandal. This sin is committed by 
taking scandal at things which are no sin at all, but 
rather meritorious actions. Thus some people are 
scandalized when they see others endeavor to lead 
perfect lives, give themselves up to pious exercises, 
hold edifying conversations, and receive the sac- 
raments frequently. They call those kinds of per- 
sons in mockery saints, devotees, etc. They assert 
that pious conversations are out of place in society. 
Nay, they even pretend to be zealous for the honor 
of God by declaring that the Most Holy Sacrament 
of the Altar is such an august mystery that nobody 
can receive it worthily, wherefore they condemn 
holy communion. This is a hypocritical way of 
taking scandal, in which the sin is not committed 
by the persons who do the good works, but by the 
others who are scandalized at seeing them done. 



Sins Against the Life of the Soul. 195 

Thus the Jews were scandalized at Our Lord Him- 
self when they heard His wisdom and saw His 
miracles (St. Matt. xiii. 54, 57). And when He 
went into the house of Zacheus, they murmured 
and said: "He eateth with sinners*' (St. Luke xix. 
7). In the same way they took scandal when Jesus 
healed a sick man on he Sabbath. But, above all, it 
was in their eyes a crime worthy of death when He 
called Himself the Son of God (St. Luke xxii. 70). 

In this sense St. Paul says that Christ crucified 
was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and unto the 
Gentiles foolishness (1 Cor. i. 23). 

But the Catholic Christian ought not even to do 
indifferent or lawful things, if his weaker brethren 
might be scandalized thereby. So, for instance, a 
Catholic who is dispensed by his confessor from 
keeping the Friday abstinence should not eat meat 
in public before others who do not know of his dis- 
pensation, and might take a bad example from see- 
ing him do so. Therefore St. Paul says: 

"Wherefore if meat scandalize my brother, I will 
never eat flesh, lest I should scandalize my brother" 
(1 Cor. viii. 13). "From all appearance of evil 
refrain yourselves" (1 Thess. v. 22). 

Examples. 

Here again we find a beautiful example in the 
venerable old man Eleazar. He would not even 
pretend to eat forbidden meat. " For it doth not 



196 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

become our age, said he, to dissemble; wherebv 
many young persons might think that Eleazar, at 
the age of fourscore and ten years, was gone over to 
the life of the heathens: and so they, through my 
dissimulation, and for a little time of a corruptible 
life, should be deceived, and hereby I should bring 
a stain and a curse upon my old age" (2 Mach. vi. 
2 4, 25). 

Duties Enjoined by the Fifth Commandment. 

The duties which the fifth commandment enjoins 
are chiefly based on the virtue of charity towards 
our neighbor. This true inward charity must be 
exercised towards everybody, even towards our ene- 
mies. We are to live in peace and harmony with 
all men, if it be possible (Rom. xii. 18) ; we are to 
help them in their need, and be patient, kind, and 
gentle with them. If one of our brethren fail, we 
are to exhort and warn him in all brotherliness. 
We are never to hurt our neighbor, or to wish him 
any harm. We are to promote his health by all 
means in our power, and also to take care of our 
own body; when we are ill we are to use the right 
remedies in order to recover our health. " Health 
of the soul in holiness and justice is better than all 
gold and silver: and a sound body, than immense 
revenues" (Ecclus. xxx. 15). 



Cruelty Towards Animals. 197 

Application. 

Let us be convinced that we are miserable and 
weak and prone to evil, and let us beware of every- 
thing which might cause strife and dissension. Let 
us carefully guard our tongue, that nobody may be 
scandalized by our words. Let us take care not to 
offend our neighbor in any way, and let us rather 
give in a hundred times and be at peace with our 
neighbor than remain in the right and live in dis- 
cord. But, above all, let us master anger, which 
leads to violence, and has plunged thousands into 
perdition. Our best safeguard will be the fear of 
God. " That which is without fear cannot be jus- 
tified: for the wrath of his high spirits is his ruin" 
(Ecclus. i. 28). 

Cruelty towards Animals* 

We have also precepts how to treat animals. The 
fifth commandment forbids us to torment and over- 
burden animals— nay, it commands that we should 
be merciful towards them. God has made man 
master of the whole earth, and all animals are given 
into his hands. He may employ them for his own 
use and may protect himself against the dangerous 
ones. But he must be kind to those he uses for 
his service, and in killing an animal he may not 
inflict greater pain than necessary. Domestic ani- 



198 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

mals especially require care and tending, for they 
cannot provide for themselves, they cannot com- 
plain, and are helpless in the hands of man. What 
would man be without the animals? Is it not 
abominable, therefore, when he purposely causes 
pain to a dumb beast in cold brutality, or hurts it 
from wantonness or carelessness? Like man him- 
self the animal has five senses, and, like him, it 
feels pain. Even in his own interest man should 
spare animals. But Holy Scripture also commands 
it: "The just regardeth the lives of his beasts: 
but the bowels of the wicked are cruel " (Prov. 
xii. 10). 

The following rules ought to be observed in 
dealing with animals: 

When a beast is killed, it ought to be done in 
such a manner that death is hastened as much as 
possible, and no unnecessary torture added. Of 
what abominations man is often guilty! Let us 
only call to mind the sights that often meet our 
eye: the calves, sheep, and pigs with their legs 
tightly tied together, the ill-treated cart-horses, the 
maddened animals in a bull-fight, the fish boiled 
alive. He who has no compassion when he sees a 
calf bound with ropes and thrown into a cart, and in 
the heat of the sun exposed to the stings of insects, 
lying there helpless with its tongue hanging out of 
its mouth, its head banged about with the jolting 
of the vehicle, from which it is afterwards flung on 



Cruelty Towards Animals. 199 

the ground, to remain for hours in this wretched 
condition — he who sees these and similar acts of 
cruelty, and does not feel for the poor animal or 
wish to release it from its tortures, does not deserve 
the name of man ; he is not a child of that heavenly 
Father of whom it is said : " He giveth to beasts 
their food : and to the young ravens that call upon 
Him" (Ps. cxlvi. 9). "Are not five sparrows sold 
for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten 
before God?" (St. Luke xii. 6). 

Examples. 

The history of Jonas is a beautiful illustration 
of the regard God has for poor, senseless creatures. 
When this disobedient prophet murmured because 
Ninive was not destroyed, the Lord said to him : 
" Shall I not spare Ninive, that great city, in which 
there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand 
persons, that know not how to distinguish between 
their right hand and their left, and many beasts?" 
(Jonas iv. n). 

Moses gave to the Israelites strict laws intended 
for the protection of animals. 

"Thou shalt not pass by if thou seest thy 
brother's ox or his sheep go astray : but thou shalt 
bring them back to thy brother" (Deut. xxii. 1). 
" If thou see thy brother's ass or his ox to be 
fallen down in the way, thou shalt not slight it, but 
shalt lift it up with him" (Deut. xxii. 4). The 



200 The Fifth Commandment of God. 

same was to be done to the ox of an enemy. " Thou 
shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together" 
(Deut. xxii. 10). Even temporal blessings are 
promised to the man who is kirjd to animals, for 
Moses commands : " If thou find as thou walkest by 
the way, a bird's nest in a tree, or on the ground, 
and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the 
eggs : thou shalt not take her with her young, but 
shalt let her go, keeping the young which thou hast 
caught: that it may be well with thee, and thou 
mayst live a long time" (Deut. xxii. 6, 7). The 
Israelites used to employ oxen to thresh the corn 
with their feet. Some of the people who were 
miserly muzzled the oxen, so that they should not 
eat of the corn. Therefore they were told : " Thou 
shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out thy corn 
on the floor" (Deut. xxv. 4). In the third com- 
mandment it was expressly enjoined that the ani- 
mals should not work on the Sabbath. " Six days 
shalt thou work: the seventh day thou shalt cease, 
that thy ox and thy ass may rest" (Exod. xxiii. 12). 
Nay, in order to cultivate feelings of very delicate 
consideration among the Israelites, it was com- 
manded: 'Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of 
its dam" (Exod. xxiii. 19). 






Sins Against these Commandments. 201 

Gbe Sijtb Commandment. 

Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

Gbe IFUntb CommanDment. 

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. 

Sins Against the Sixth and Ninth Command- 
ments, 

As the welfare of society depends on the pres- 
ervation of human life, so the welfare of the family 
depends on the sacredness of the marriage-tie. But 
as the human community is but an aggregation of 
a number of families, the welfare of society de- 
pends no less on the sacredness of marriage. For 
this reason the sixth commandment forbids in the 
first place all violation of conjugal fidelity, and 
not only by deed, but also by intention, or by vol- 
untary desire, as expressed in the ninth command- 
ment. Just as the man who hates his fellow-man is 
called a murderer (St. John iii. 15), he who looks 
upon a woman to desire her is counted among the 
adulterers. " But I say to you, that whosoever 
shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath al- 
ready committed adultery with her in his heart" 
(St. Matt. v. 28). 

Adultery is not a simple but a manifold sin, for 



202 The Sixth and Ninth Commandments. 

the adulterer not only sins against the sixth com- 
mandment, but he violates the faith he has sworn 
before the altar, and the rights of his consort. 
Besides, injustice is frequently done to legitimate 
children by giving to those born in adultery the 
same fortune as to the former. Wherever any in- 
justice has been done in this way, the adulterer is 
bound to repair all temporal loss which the inno- 
cent consort and the children have sustained. 

In the Old Covenant adultery, like murder, blas- 
phemy, and perjury, was punished with the severest 
penalty known, that of stoning. " If any man com- 
mit adultery with the wife of another, let them be 
put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress" 
(Lev. xx. 10). 

2. The sixth commandment prohibits all un- 
chaste actions, whether committed with another or 
alone. It also forbids all voluntary unchaste 
thoughts and desires, all unchaste looks and words, 
all that incites to and develops impurity, all that 
violates holy modesty, be it by look or touch. It 
is an aggravating circumstance when this sin is 
committed with a person of the same sex, or a mar- 
ried person, or with an ecclesiastic or religious. 

3. There are some sins which occur frequently, 
which are considered very trifling by many, and are 
scarcely punished by the authorities, and yet cause 
fearful moral havoc in the hearts and minds of 
men; they are the following: 



Sins Against these Commandments. 203 

a. Impure jokes and farces, words with a double 
meaning, and unchaste songs; they do not fail to 
corrupt the mind, because they excite unholy de- 
sires, root out modesty, and leave impressions on 
the imagination which are not easily effaced, and 
keep the soul in a constant state of temptation. 

b. Impure pictures and representations, which 
familiarize with evil, poison the imagination, and in 
the same way as impure words, jokes, and songs 
leave the sting of sin in the heart. 

c. Immoral books, in which vice is painted in 
alluring colors or defended, or in which bad prin- 
ciples are upheld. These sins are all the more 
heinous because they help to carry the seeds of 
vice into the remotest spheres, and cause grave 
scandal. 

" Fornication and all uncleanness or covetous- 
ness, let it not so much as be named among you, as 
becometh saints, nor [let there be] obscenity" (Eph. 

v. 3. 4). 

4. The malice and enormity of the sin of impu- 
rity is easily measured by its destructive effects, by 
its pernicious consequences, and by the punishment 
with which God visits it. Man, the image of God, 
becomes an animal in committing it. He no longer 
serves God; like the animal, he is a slave to his 
body and its desires. He even sinks below the 
level of the brute beast, for the animal follows its 
natural instinct, but man, who is endowed with a 



204 The Sixth and Ninth Commandments. 

free will, sells his birthright, resists the voice of 
conscience, despises the grace which has been be- 
stowed upon him, and deliberately rebels against 
the law of God. Sins against chastity not only 
corrupt the soul, but also the body, for disease and 
ruin follow in their train. 

Other very common consequences of these sins 
are: 

Shattered fortunes, sorrow, disgrace, and ruin of 
family happiness. Moreover, a man who is addicted 
to these vices sinks lower and lower, and becomes 
more and more weak and incapable of resisting 
temptation. What was first done from frailty is 
soon committed with full consent and deliberation. 
At last a man succeeds in persuading himself that 
lust is no sin. Thus he who fell with anguish and 
remorse of conscience, in the end becomes a hard- 
ened sinner. 

Holy Scripture pronounces on the unchaste the 
following sentence: " For know ye this and under- 
stand, that no fornicator nor unclean person . . . 
hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of 
God" (Eph. v. 5). 

The sin of impurity committed by deed with a 
person of the same sex is called, because of its 
enormity and abominableness, the sin against na- 
ture, and also the Sodomite sin, because the inhabi- 
tants of Sodom were guilty of it. It is numbered 
among the sins crying to heaven for vengeance, be- 



Duties Enjoined by the Sixth Commandment. 205 

cause Sodom was so wicked that the cry of its sin 
had "grown loud before the Lord" (Gen. xix. 13). 

Duties Enjoined by the Sixth Commandment* 
On Chastity According to Our State. 

As impurity is such a grievous sin that every 
time it is committed the soul is in danger, it is a 
most imperious duty for the Christian to avoid 
everything which might lead to it, and to use all 
those means by which we are strengthened against 
impurity and acquire divine grace. 

In the first place, we are commanded to practise 
chastity according to our state. 

1. The most common causes which lead to sins 
of impurity, and, as it were, pave the way for them, 
are: 

a. Intemperance in eating and drinking. " Wine 
is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous" 
(Prov. xx. 1). 

b. Idleness, which even the voice of the people 
has called the root of all evil. The Prophet al- 
ready says of the inhabitants of Sodom : " Behold 
this was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, fulness of 
bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and 
of her daughters : and they did not put forth their 
hand to the needy and to the poor" (Ezech. xvi. 49). 

c. Immodest dress, which causes many sins and 
causes great scandal. " In like manner the women 



206 The Sixth and Ninth Commandments. 

also in decent apparel: adorning themselves with 
modesty and sobriety, and not with plaited hair, or 
gold, or pearls, or costly attire" (i Tim. ii. 9). 

d. Bold looks and listening to sinful discourses. 
The eyes and the ears are the channels through 
which sin enters into the soul. " Gaze not upon a 
maiden, lest her beauty be a stumbling-block to 
thee. Look not round about thee in the ways of 
the city, nor wander up and down in the streets 
thereof. Turn away thy face from a woman dressed 
up, and gaze not about on another's beauty. For 
many have perished by the beauty of a woman, and 
hereby lust is enkindled as a fire" (Ecclus. ix. 5, 
7-9)- 

e. Indecent dances and plays. To dances ap- 
plies, as St. Francis of Sales says, what we know 
of mushrooms: the best of them are worth noth- 
ing. St. Ephrem says : " Where noise of timbrels 
and dancing is heard, men are blinded and women 
seduced." 

/ The greatest danger to holy purity are those 
long acquaintances, which seem innocent in the 
beginning, but nearly always lead to sin. Of them 
St. Alphonsus Liguori says: "I say in general, 
that a person who entertains acquaintances hardly 
keeps from proximate occasion of sin. Experience 
teaches that there are but few who keep up those 
intimacies and remain free from grievous sins. 
And although they may not sin in the beginning, 



Duties Enjoined by the Sixth Commandment. 207 

they easily fall in the course of time. At first one 
speaks from affection, afterwards affection changes 
into passion, and when passion has once taken 
root, it blinds the understanding and effects that 
one falls into a thousand sins of impure thoughts, 
and words, and even into unchaste actions." 

2. Chastity according to our state is threefold: 
conjugal chastity, chastity of widows, and of virgins. 

a. Married people must know that not every- 
thing is allowed in the married state, but that 
nothing may be done which is opposed to the end 
of marriage. The marriage of Tobias and Sara is 
a most beautiful example of a devout marriage 
even for Christians. We read that Tobias said to 
Sara : " We are the children of saints, and we must 
not be joined together like heathens that know not 
God" (Tob. viii. 5). 

The Angel Raphael discovered to Tobias how it 
happens that the devil gets power over married 
persons : " They who in such manner receive matri- 
mony as to shut out God from themselves, and from 
their minds, and to give themselves to their lust, as 
the horse and mule, which have not understanding, 
over them the devil hath power" (Tob. vi. 17). 

b. To widows the Apostle gives the following 
precept : " But she that is a widow indeed and 
desolate, let her trust in God, and continue in 
supplications and prayers night and day. For she 
that liveth in pleasures is dead while she is liv- 



208 The Sixth and Ninth Commandments. 

ing. And this give in charge, that they may be 
blameless" (i. Tim. v. 5-7). 

c. The chastity of virgins is extolled in Holy 
Writ and by the Fathers in the most glowing terms. 
In the Book of Wisdom it is written : " How beau- 
tiful is the chaste generation with glory: for the 
memory thereof is immortal : because it is known 
both with God and with men. When it is present, 
they imitate it: and they desire it when it hath 
withdrawn itself, and it triumpheth crowned for- 
ever, winning the reward of undefiled conflicts" 
(Wisd. iv. 1, 2). 

Our Lord Himself likens those who do not marry 
and remain virgins to the angels (St. Luke xx. 36) ; 
and in the Apocalypse it is written of those who 
have not defiled themselves with women : " These 
are they who were not defiled with women : for they 
are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever 
he goeth. These were purchased from among men, 
the first fruits to God and to the Lamb" (Apoc. 
xiv. 4). 

St. Francis of Sales praises chastity in these 
words: "Chastity is the lily among virtues; it 
makes man nearly like to the angels. Nothing is 
beautiful which is not pure, and the purity of man 
is chastity. It has the glory entirely its own of 
being the fair virtue resplendent in body and soul 
at the same time. A chaste heart is like the 
mother of pearl which does not allow any water to 



Duties Enjoined by the Sixth Commandment. 209 

come into her shell except the drops which fall 
from heaven : it will not give itself up to unholy 
pleasure, nor admit even a voluntary thought of it 
into its sanctuary." 

Application. 

1. The Catholic Christian must remember that 
he can preserve the treasure of holy purity only by 
the grace of God, and therefore he must pray for it, 
and pray for it with great humility, for many have 
fallen because they deemed themselves strong and 
had too much confidence in their own virtue. Let 
us invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, Mother of God, and bravely fight the good 
fight, looking to the splendid reward which she re- 
ceived and which awaits us also, so that we too 
may be crowned with all those glorious saints who 
have conquered before us. " Blessed are the clean 
of heart, for they shall see God" (St. Matt. v. 8). 

2. The sacraments are the means of grace of the 
Church. We must therefore receive them from time 
to time. We shall always come away strengthened 
from the Table of the Lord. The Christian's life 
ought to be an illustration of these words of the 
Prophet Zacharias : " For what is the good thing of 
him, and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn 
of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins?" 
(Zach. ix. 17). 

3. In order to conquer our evil desires we ought 

14 



2io The Sixth and Ninth Commandments. 

to use even corporal means, such as mortification of 
the senses by fasting, watching, labor, and other 
works of penance. " He that hath suffered in the 
flesh hath ceased from sins" (i St. Peter iv. i). 

4. The remembrance of the omnipresence of 
God, of His majesty and justice, of the bitter pas- 
sion and death of Christ, the thought of death, 
judgment, and hell will also prove most powerful 
helps in overcoming our evil desires. "Walk in 
the spirit and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the 
flesh" (Gal. v. 16). 

5. The most necessary means of preserving holy 
purity is the avoidance of bad occasions. In this 
warfare he is the strongest who takes to flight. 
" Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent : for 
if thou comest near them, they will take hold of 
thee" (Ecclus. xxi. 2). 

Exatnples. 

We can see in what detestation God holds the 
vice of lust from the judgments with which He 
visited mankind at the time of Noe, and the inhabi- 
tants of Sodom and Gomorrha when He destroyed 
their cities (Gen. xix. 24). When during the wan- 
derings in the desert the children of Israel com- 
mitted sins of impurity with the daughters of Moab, 
twenty-four thousand of them were killed by the 
sword at the command of God (Num. xxv. 9). Be- 
cause David had committed this sin with the wife 



Duties Enjoined by the Sixth Commandment. 2 1 1 

of Urias, God sent him word through the Prophet 
Nathan : " Therefore the sword shall never depart 
from thy house, because thou hast despised Me, 
and hast taken the wife of Urias the Hethite to be 
thy wife. Because thou hast given occasion to the 
enemies of the Lord to blaspheme for this thing, 
the child that is born to thee shall surely die" (2 
Kings xii. 10, 14). 

The two old men who were inflamed with lust 
towards the chaste Susanna saw her every day 
in the house of her husband Joachim, where they 
had entrance, because they were both judges of 
Israel. But they no longer remembered the just 
judgments of God, and at last their unguarded 
looks led to the assault they made on the pious 
woman. But because Susanna resisted the wicked 
old men they accused her, and charged her with 
the same crime to which they had tried to seduce 
her, and they found faith with the people, because 
they belonged to the judges of the land. Susanna 
would have been stoned if God had not raised 
up Daniel in order to bring her innocence to light 
(Dan. xiii.). Thus from unguarded looks sprang 
unchaste desires and actions, false witness, and 
blood-guiltiness. David also would have been 
preserved from the sin he committed with the wife 
of Urias if he had kept watch over his eyes (2 
Kings xi. 2). Holy Job, on the contrary, could say 
of himself : " I made a covenant with my eyes, 



212 The Seventh and Tenth Commandments. 

that I would not so much as think upon a virgin" 
(Job xxxi. 1). The thought of the omnipresence 
of God upheld the Patriarch Joseph in the hour of 
temptation; he said: "How then can I do this 
wicked thing, and sin against my God?" (Gen. 
xxxix. 9). It was the same thought which gave 
strength to Susanna steadfastly to resist the tempta- 
tion by saying to the two wicked old men : " It is 
better for me to fall into your hands without doing 
it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord." 



Gbe Seventb Commandment. 

Thou shalt not steal. 

XLbe Gentb GommanDment. 

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods. 

Sins Against Justice. 

The seventh commandment forbids any injury 
done to our neighbor's property, and here also, as 
in the case of homicide or adultery, not only the 
action itself, but also the desire after strange goods 
is forbidden, because all sins of injustice spring 
from covetousness. " From within out of the heart 
of men proceed evil thoughts, . . . thefts" (St. 
Mark vii. 21, 22). 



Sins Against Justice. 213 

On the contrary, the seventh commandment en- 
joins to leave every man in possession of his own, 
and to give him his due. 

We injure our neighbor in his property by taking 
it away, by keeping it unjustly, or by damaging it. 

1. We can take away strange property in a two- 
fold manner: by robbery or by theft. Robbery is 
the seizure of strange goods by force, and often 
leads to deeds of violence and even to homicide 
and murder, or endangers the life and body of the 
perpetrator of the crime. 

Theft is the taking by stealth of strange property. 
It is not as grievous a sin as robbery, and yet we 
read: "... Nor thieves shall possess the kingdom 
of God" (1 Cor. vi. 10). 

In the case of robbery, as in that of theft, the 
gravity of the sin depends on the value of the ob- 
ject stolen, and on the circumstances under which 
the crime is committed. Thus the value of what 
has been stolen may be small, and the sin a griev- 
ous one all the same, because of the fright which 
was caused to the person robbed. A trifling theft 
of victuals taken from a poor person who has to 
suffer want in consequence may become a very 
serious sin. Stealing anything from a church is 
nearly always a grievous sin because of the sacri- 
lege connected with it. A series of small thefts 
cannot be committed, as a rule, without mortal 
sin. 



214 The Seventh and Tenth Commandments. 

There are other kinds of theft and robbery be- 
sides the above mentioned. 

Theft is also committed by: 

a. All those who cheat in buying and selling, 
who pass off bad or adulterated articles for good' 
or ask exorbitant prices, or sell with too small, and 
buy with too large, weight and measure, or ' pay 
with false coin. "Thou shalt not have divers 
weights in thy bag, a greater and a less. Thou 
shalt have just and true weight, for the Lord ab- 
horreth him that doth these things, and He hateth 
all injustice" (Deut. xxv. 13, 15, 16). 

b. Children who take away or squander the prop- 
erty of their parents, or servants who do the same 
by their masters. 

e. Servants, workmen, and laborers who do not 
do their work, or do it badly. 

d. Fathers of families who spend the money 
which they ought to employ to feed their wife and 
children in drink and gambling, or other wasteful 
ways. 

e. Grown-up children who have received their 
patrimony in the lifetime of their parents and do 
not give them the share reserved for them or the 
allowance agreed on. 

/ Public officials who neglect the duties of their 
office. 

g. Beggars who ask alms without need, from idle- 
ness and avarice. 



Sins Against Justice. 215 

h. Swindlers who rob people of their own through 
all sorts of wiles and artifices. 
Robbery is also committed by : 

a. Those who keep servants, workmen, or laborers 
waiting for their rightful and well-earned wages, or 
defraud them altogether of such wages — one of the 
sins crying to heaven for vengeance. 

b. Those who defraud widows and orphans of 
their own — another sin crying to heaven for ven- 
geance. 

c. Those who take advantage of the necessity of 
their neighbor in order to buy more cheaply from 
him, or who abuse his inexperience or their own 
power to extort anything from him. 

d. Those who bring unjust actions or law-suits 
against others. 

e. Merchants who fraudulently declare them- 
selves bankrupt. 

f. Usurers who take interest in cases where it is 
not lawful, or higher interest than the law allows, 
no matter whether openly or under the form of de- 
ductions, or by any other underhand methods. 

g. Those who buy up the commodities of life in 
order to raise the prices. 

h. Judges, solicitors, or business people who take 
bribes. 

i. Those who start companies without real foun- 
dation or object, or who by false statements puff 
their object far beyond its real value or profit, in 



2i6 The Seventh and Tenth Commandments 

order to enrich themselves at the expense of the 
shareholders, as is frequently done by bubble com- 
panies. 

" Thou shalt not lend to thy brother money to 
usury, nor corn, nor any other thing. To thy 
brother thou shalt lend that which he wanteth, 
without usury: that the Lord thy God may bless 
thee in all thy works" (Deut. xxiii. 19, 20). 

" He that hideth up corn shall be cursed among 
the people: but a blessing upon the head of them 
that sell" (Prov. xi. 26). 

"Lord, who shall dwell in Thy tabernacle? or 
who shall rest in Thy holy hill? He that hath not 
put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against 
the innocent" (Ps. xiv. 1, 5). 

2. All those persons keep strange property: who 
receive stolen goods, or sell articles of which they 
know for certain, or can reasonably suppose, that 
they are stolen. We must not buy anything un- 
less we can justly presume that it is sold by its law- 
ful owner, or in his name. The receiver is as bad as 
the thief. Also those who do not restore things they 
find, although they know the owner thereof, or could 
discover him if they tried. Those who do not take 
care of any property entrusted to them, or do not 
restore it in proper condition when asked to return 
it. Those who do not pay their debts, or contract 
debts knowing that they cannot pay them. 

3. All those injure their neighbor's property: 



Restitution. 2 1 7 

who knowingly damage it, or do not prevent dam- 
age being done where it is their duty to do so. Of 
their number are those who destroy trees and plan- 
tations, or damage public parks, monuments, etc. 
Servants who do not properly feed and tend the 
cattle of their masters, ill-treat them, make them 
work unduly, compel them to run too fast, or to 
drag too heavy loads, squander provisions, and omit 
to do all in their power to guard their employer's 
property. Overseers, care-takers, officials who have 
to superintend the work of others, and those who 
have to watch over public safety and do not fulfil 
their duty, and cause harm or mischief through 
their neglect. 

Restitution* 

Unjust possessions cry out to the Lord, and draw 
down the anger of God on the unjust. " Woe to 
the wicked unto evil : for the reward of his hands 
shall be given him" (Is. iii. 11). 

The unjust man's treasures do not profit him, 
sooner or later they will turn into a curse. " Set 
not thy heart upon unjust possessions, and say not: 
I have enough to live on : for it shall be of no 
service in the time of vengeance and darkness" 
(Ecclus. v. 1). 

The day will come when the Lord will take an 
account of all His servants, and those who still owe 
anything shall be thrown into the prison, from 



2iS The Seventh and Tenth Commandments. 

where they shall not come out till they have paid 
the last farthing (St. Matt, xviii. 34). 

We must keep in mind the following points: 

1. He who has taken or kept anything unjustly 
is bound to restore it, and he who has damaged or 
destroyed anything must make reparation. 

It is no matter, moreover, whether he have done 
the deed himself, or whether another have done it 
at his instigation. 

Nobody can receive pardon of his sin unless he 
make restitution as far as he can. " If the wicked 
man restore the pledge, and render what he had 
robbed, and walk in the commandments of life, 
and do no unjust thing: he shall surely live, and 
shall not die" (Ezech. xxxiii. 15). 

2. He who has taken away or kept anything 
must restore the article if he still possesses it, and 
restore it to nobody but the lawful owner, if he be 
known or can be discovered, and, when the owner 
is dead, to his heirs, if they be known. But he is 
allowed to do so through the medium of another — 
for instance, his parish priest or confessor — who 
may act in the name of the person bound to make 
restitution in order to save his honor. 

If the object stolen or kept unjustly has depre- 
ciated in value through the fault of the thief, he is 
bound to make up for that loss also. In the same 
way he must repair the loss which the owner has 
sustained by not being able to use his property for 



Restitution. 219 

some time. When, for instance, the tools or part 
of the tools are stolen from a workman, and he can- 
not work till he has provided himself with new 
ones, this loss also must be repaired by the thief. 
Of stolen money which has borne interest, the in- 
terest must be repaid as well as the principal. 

If the owner cannot be discovered, or if the ob- 
ject stolen or kept is only a trifle which would not 
be missed, it is allowed to devote it to some good 
purpose : for instance, to give it to the poor, or to 
the Church, or to have Masses said for the repose 
of the soul of the owner, or to make a pious founda- 
tion. In this case, however, everything must be 
avoided which would have the appearance of a 
work of charity, because it ought not to happen 
that in the end a rogue should be praised for his 
almsdeeds. 

3. If anybody possesses ill-gotten goods, and is 
not able on his death-bed to restore them himself, 
but reveals the fact to his heirs, or if they hear of 
it through any other channel, they are bound to 
repay everything the deceased would have been 
obliged to repay. 

If several persons together have wronged another, 
they are responsible in this way, that, if one of 
them cannot refund his share of the theft, the others 
must step in. And if only one person were left, 
he would have to make restitution for the whole 
amount. 



220 The Seventh and Tenth Commandments. 

4. Those who are bound to make restitution or 
reparation must do so at once. If their delay 
cause any loss to the person wronged, they must 
repair this loss. If the person who has wronged 
the other is not able to repair the wrong at the 
present time, he is obliged to pay as much as he 
can, and the rest as soon after as possible. A man 
who is declared bankrupt by the civil law, and is 
so in reality, remains in conscience bound to make 
restitution to his creditors as soon as he is in better 
circumstances again. 

5. He who has got possession of strange goods 
by mistake must give back what is left when the 
mistake is found out, or the equivalent of what he 
has saved by the use of the strange property. If, 
for instance, any one has got possession of a pair of 
shoes belonging to somebody else, he is obliged to 
give back another pair, because he has saved buy- 
ing a pair for himself. 

6. He who finds anything does not become the 
owner of the article till he has advertised it in the 
place where it was found, and nobody has claimed 
it. He who finds a treasure in his land has a 
right to keep it; if he finds it in another's prop- 
erty, half of the treasure belongs to the finder, the 
other half to the owner of the place. But these 
and similar cases are regulated by the laws of 
the respective countries, which must guide our 
conduct. 



Reparatio?i. 221 

Reparation* 

It may happen that somebody cannot regain his 
own property or something he has lent because 
another holds it, and will not restore it, or will not 
pay what he owes. In this case the rightful owner 
may take back his own, even without the knowledge 
of the holder, but only if what is thus withheld 
from him is indisputably his own property, and all 
violence is avoided. But with regard to demands 
for payment, it is very dangerous to repay one's self, 
because there is always a danger of deceiving one's 
self, of coveting what is not due to one, and of 
overrating one's own claims. Generally speaking, 
the following principles ought to guide us: 

1. The demand must be based on right — for in- 
stance, where between employer and servant certain 
wages have been agreed on without any condition, 
and the employer refuses to pay the wages. But if 
the employer has only promised to raise the wages 
of the servant provided he were to be found honest 
and hard-working, the servant could not help him- 
self to the difference, even if he thought he had 
fulfilled the condition. 

2. The injured party must not have any other 
way of obtaining justice. If a person, for instance, 
can get the matter settled by law, he may not repay 
himself. 

3. No sin may be committed in righting one's self 



222 The Seventh and Tenth Commandments. 

in this manner— for instance, lying and deceit may 
not be resorted to. 

It is best in these cases to consult some good 
and pious person, and to ask somebody else to fix 
the exact amount of our claim. 

Duties Enjoined by the Seventh and Tenth 
Commandments. 

The seventh and tenth commandments enjoin 
the Christian to give to every one his due, and to 
use his own possessions for the good of human 
society. He is bound, therefore, to practise justice 
and benevolence. Of these we shall speak in 
treating of Christian perfection and of good works. 

On the other hand, we are not forbidden to save 
up temporal goods for the day of need, for our old 
age, for our family, and even for future charita- 
ble works or foundations. We are commanded to 
do so without violating justice, by honest means, 
through industry and economy, without attaching 
our hearts to worldly possessions, without being 
miserly, without anxiety or losing confidence in the 
providence of God, who cares for us and who as- 
sures us that we are of far greater value in His 
eyes than the sparrows of whom none are lost. 
"Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: 
where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves 
break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves 
treasures in heaven : where neither rust nor moth 



"1bow can IT bo this wicfeeb tbing, anb sin against ms <3ob V* 
©en. inir. 




COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY BENZI 

" IRatban saib to 2>avib : Ube son tbat is born to tbee sball 
surelg bie."— 2 TRings jii. 14, 

SIXTH AND NINTH COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 



The Sixth and Ninth Commandments of God. 

"Thou shalt not commit adultery. — Thou shalt 
not covet thy neighbor's wife." 



Reflection. — The body of the Christian, says St. 
Paul, is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and should, 
therefore, never be defiled with the vice of impurity. 
This vice is so degrading that the same apostle de- 
clares it should not even be mentioned by name among 
Christians = It makes man the slave of his base pas- 
sions and lowers him to the level of the brute. On 
the other hand, the virtue of holy purity frees man 
from the thraldom of his passions, renders him similar 
to the angels and fit to behold the God of infinite 
purity, holiness, and beauty. "Blessed are the clean 
of heart, for they shall see God/' (Matt. v. 8.) 
We should prize this virtue above all earthly goods 
and be ready to make every sacrifice to preserve it. 

Practice. — Let us avoid every sinful occasion, 
every unbecoming conversation, and refrain from 
all improper looks and dangerous reading, lest we fall 
into the abominable vice of impurity. Let us watch 
carefully over our thoughts and affections, and invoke 
the holy names of Jesus and Mary as soon as we are 
tempted to impurity. 

Prayer. — O my God, grant that I may always 
serve Thee with a chaste body and a pure heart. O 
Mary, help me to overcome all temptations against 
purity. Amen. 



Duties Enjoined by these Commandments. 223 

doth consume, and where thieves do not break 
through nor steal" (St. Matt. vi. 19, 20). 

Application. 

1. A Christian ought to examine from time to 
time, and especially before receiving the sacra- 
ments, whether he has not something to restore or to 
repair. For nobody knows how long he will live, and 
whether he will be able to make reparation before his 
last hour, for in the next world there is no chance 
of reparation ; there we can only expiate and suffer. 

2. Consider what folly it is to labor and to toil 
in order to gain worldly goods, and to keep them 
with remorse of conscience, knowing all the while 
that we must give them up sooner or later. For all 
this toil and trouble to suffer punishment and pain, 
— what an awful thought ! " Set not thy heart upon 
unjust possessions, and say not: I have enough to 
live on : for it shall be of no service in the time of 
vengeance and darkness" (Ecclus. v. 1). 

3. Let us take to heart what the wise Jesus 
Sirach says: "Riches are good to him that hath 
no sin on his conscience" (Ecclus. xiii. 30). 

Examples. 

The story of Achan and his children furnishes 
us with a dreadful example of how God punishes 
theft. The Israelites had been commanded by 
Josue to consecrate to the Lord all the gold and 



224 The Seventh and Tenth Commandments. 

silver they were to carry off at the taking of Jericho, 
and to lay them up as a treasure for the support of the 
Ark of the Covenant. But Achan had taken a scar- 
let garment, a rule of gold, and two hundred sides 
of silver from the booty, and had buried them in the 
ground under his tent, and his sons and daughters 
had assisted him in the deed. But he was found 
out, and he was stoned with his sons and daughters, 
and their bodies were burnt (Josue vii.). Achab, 
who caused Naboth to be killed and took posses- 
sion of his vineyard, perished miserably (3 Kings 
xxii. 34), and his wife, Jezabel, likewise for having 
taken part in the crime (4 Kings ix. 30-37). Even 
his children, seventy in number, were killed for the 
sin of their parents by the permission of God (4 
Kings x. 7). Giezi, the servant of Eliseus, who 
had fraudulently obtained money and garments 
from Naaman, the Assyrian general, was punished 
with leprosy (4 Kings v. 27). 

In the Old Covenant restitution was not only 
strictly commanded, but it was enjoined to give 
more than the value of what had been appropriated. 
The commandment ran thus : " If a man steal an 
ox or a sheep and kill or sell it, he shall restore 
five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep. 
If he have not wherewith to make restitution for 
the theft, he shall be sold. If that which he stole 
be found with him, alive, either ox or ass or 
sheep: he shall restore double. If any man hurt a 



Duties Enjoined 'o~y these Commandments. 225 

field or a vineyard, and put in his beast to feed 
upon that which is other men's, he shall restore the 
best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in 
his vineyard, according to the estimation of the 
damage" (Ex. xxii. 1,3-5). He w ^° na( ^ damaged 
another's property had to make reparation to the 
amount of the damage done, and add the fifth part 
of it into the bargain (Lev. vi. 5). We find a most 
beautiful example of conscientiousness in the elder 
Tobias. He had become so poor through alms- 
giving that Anna, his wife, had to keep him and 
herself by weaving. One day she brought home a 
young kid which had been given her for her work. 
And when her husband heard it bleating, he said : 
" Take heed, lest perhaps it be stolen, restore ye it 
to its owners, for it is not lawful for us either to 
eat or to touch anything that cometh by theft" 
Tob. ii. 19-21). He did not mean that Anna had 
stolen the kid, but that it might have been stolen by 
the givers. Zacheus is another example of scrupu- 
lous honesty. As a tax-gatherer he could easily 
make a mistake in collecting the taxes. But as 
soon as he perceived it he used to restore what 
he had asked too much, and not only twofold, but 
fourfold (St. Luke xix. 8). In doing this he may 
have had in his mind that the injury he had in- 
flicted on his neighbor by exacting too much re- 
quired reparation, and also that his own carelessness 
deserved punishment. 
15 



226 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

Of the early Christians the Governor Pliny- 
writes to the Emperor Trajan in the following 
words: "They solemnly pledge themselves to ab- 
stain from all crimes, never to commit theft or 
adultery, or to perjure themselves, never to break 
their word, and never to conceal any goods deposed 
with them." 



Gbe JEt^btb Commandment. 

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 

Sins Against the Eighth Commandment* 

As the safety of life and property is based on the 
sacredness of marriage, so the welfare of human so- 
ciety rests on public confidence resulting from that 
veracity which every one has a right to exact from 
his neighbor. Therefore God forbids false testi- 
mony, i.e., all untruthfulness in word and deed. 
An untruth in words is called a lie. By untruth 
in deeds we mean all actions which aim at deceiv- 
ing our neighbor, all kinds of hypocrisy, insincerity, 
and dissimulation. "Lord, who shall dwell in 
Thy tabernacle? or who shall rest in Thy holy 
hill? He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath 
not used deceit in his tongue" (Ps. xiv. i, 3). 

1. Lying means saying something contrary to 
what we think, and to give out as true what we 



Sins Against the Eighth Commandment. 227 

know to be false in order to deceive another. Any- 
body tells a lie, therefore, who purposely and delib- 
erately utters an untruth. The amount of guilt in 
this sin depends on the importance of the testimony 
given, on the character of the person to whom the 
lie is told, and on the harm which it causes. A lie 
in confession, for instance, is nearly always a sac- 
rilege, and consequently a lie of the gravest kind. 

A lie which is told to get one's self or another 
out of a difficulty is called an officious lie. Such 
lies are told by mothers, for instance, when they 
tell untruths to fathers in order to hide faults com- 
mitted by their children, and screen them from 
punishment. Servants and inferiors of any class 
often tell such lies in order to escape rebuke or 
punishment, or the obligation of making restitu- 
tion when they have damaged anything. 

2. When a Christian has committed a fault he 
must acknowledge it, and take the punishment he 
deserves, and not add a second sin to the first. 
" Be not ashamed to confess thy sins. For there is 
a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame 
that bringeth glory and grace" (Ecclus. iv. 31, 25). 

If a lie we tell causes any injury to our neigh- 
bor it is called a malicious lie, and he who tells it 
is bound to make reparation to the amount of the 
injury he has caused. 

2. Even those kind of lies which we call jocose 
lies are onlv allowed when the untruth told is so 



228 



The Eighth Commandment of God. 



obvious that it would strike any one at once, or 
when it is told in so harmless a manner that 
nobody is injured thereby. If, for instance, to the 
question, "What is the news?" a person were to 
answer, "According to the latest news the French 
are across the Rhine," he would not tell a lie. 
But if the answer were, " It is reported that the 
French have crossed the Rhine," the case would be 
different. It would be no sin, either, if a man were 
to say he had seen an ox flying. But often this 
kind of lying degenerates into contempt of our 
fellow-men. Thus if we make fun of somebody, 
or make him appear ridiculous in the eyes of 
others, and mortify him in this way, we commit 



sin. 



Moreover, lies which people tell in joke may 
have the most serious consequences— for instance, 
when they cause terror and fright. Such jokes are 
unworthy of a Christian, although they may not al- 
ways be dangerous. kk But I say unto you, that 
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall 
render an account for it in the day of judgment" 
(St. Matt. xii. 36). 

3. The most grievous kind of lie is false testi- 
mony; it consists in declaring before a court of 
law, or before witnesses, that something is true 
which we know to be not so, or in denying some- 
thing which we know to be true. If God is taken 
to witness in such a case, the false testimony given 



Sins Against the Eighth Commandment. 229 

becomes perjury. False testimony in a court of 
law is always a grievous sin, because it implies 
contempt of court and disregard of the obedience 
we owe to the authorities. 

The same grievous sin is committed by those who 
bribe witnesses, or buy them with money, or influ- 
ence them by promises ; those who tamper with or 
forge documents, and thus procure unjust decisions 
from the law. 

How grievous a sin it is to give false testimony 
appears from the words of Holy Scripture, where 
lying witnesses are called the children of the devil 
(3 Kings xxi. 13). 

The injury which a false witness does to his 
neighbor will be turned against himself. " A lying 
witness shall perish" (Prov. xxi. 28). 

4. Every conscious untruth told with the intent 
of deceiving is a sin, for it is an offence against 
God, the All-True, who has created us after His 
own image. It is an offence against our divine 
Redeemer, who is Truth, and has asked His Father 
to sanctify His disciples in truth (St. John xvii. 
17). It is an offence against the Holy Ghost, who 
is the Spirit of Truth (St. John xvi. 13). But be- 
sides all this a lie is an injustice towards the per- 
son to whom it is told, because he is deceived, very 
frequently injured, and in any case insulted and 
treated with contempt. It is a sin against human 
society, which has a right to exact truth, and can- 



230 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

not subsist without veracity. Lying is numbered 
among the most grievous sins by Holy Scrip- 
ture. 

"All liars shall have their portion in the pool 
burning with fire and brimstone" (Apoc. xxi. 8). 
|'The mouth that belieth, killeth the soul" (Wisd. 
i. ii). "A thief is better than a man that is 
always lying: but both of them shall inherit de- 
struction" (Ecclus. xx. 27). 

5- As we may not say anything untrue in order 
to deceive others, so we may not do anything in 
order to mislead them. This would be hypocrisy 
or dissimulation. Hypocrites either pretend to be 
better than they are, and especially try to appear 
just, virtuous, and pious, or they make others be- 
lieve that they mean well by them in order to gain 
their confidence and then abuse them. Flattery is 
a similar kind of sin. It consists in speaking well 
of others to their face, attributing qualities to them 
which they do not possess, or praising in them 
what is not praiseworthy, in order to gain their 
favor. Flattery is never a single untruth, but a 
series of deliberate falsehoods, which generally 
take the form of actions also. Therefore Our 
Saviour so severely condemned the Pharisees who 
were guilty of this sin, by saying to them: "Woe 
to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because 
you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly 
appear to men beautiful, but within are full of 



Sins Against the Eighth Commandment. 231 

dead men's bones, and of all filthiness" (St. Matt, 
xxiii. 27). 

6. Although we may not say anything untrue, 
there are cases in which it is allowed to conceal 
the truth. Not every one has a right to question 
another, and it is not always possible to silence an 
indiscreet questioner with the brief answer: "I 
won't tell you," or: "That is no business of yours." 
Such an answer would be taken as a simple 
affirmative. In these cases it is allowed to give a 
reply with a double meaning, or to make a mental 
reservation. If, for instance, a man is asked by 
another who has no right to the question : " Have 
you paid all your debts?" he may answer: "Yes," 
and add mentally: "those which I was able to 
pay," for the state of his finances is no concern of 
the other. But it would be quite different if the 
questioner had a right to ask him. When, for in- 
stance, a man wishes to borrow money of another, 
the latter has a right to ask whether the borrower 
has debts already, with a view to acting according 
to the answer he receives. 

But such a mental reservation is never allowed 
when we are questioned by those who have a right 
to do so — for instance, the authorities. Nor may 
the truth ever be hidden, if such an act were in- 
jurious to the honor of God or of His Church. 
Nobody has a right, for instance, to recommend a 
man for an ecclesiastical preferment whom he 



232 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

knows to hold unorthodox principles and opinions, 
for by hiding the truth he would enable that person 
to spread the poison of bad principles, and to 
aggravate the evil by the weight of the authority 
which the office would confer on him. 

It is impossible to represent the ugliness and 
enormity of lying in a more graphic manner than 
Thomas of Aquinas has done. He says : " The liar 
bears in himself the image of the devil, who was a 
liar from the beginning. Those who imitate him 
are like unto false coins; when these false coins 
shall be produced on the Day of Judgment, and the 
Judge will ask, 'Whose image is this?' and the 
answer will be, 'The devil's,' He will say: 'Give 
unto the devil the things that are the devil's.'" 

Examples. 

The first liar was the devil, who through the ser- 
pent defrauded our first parents, and the whole hu- 
man race of Paradise, and delivered them up to 
death and unspeakable misery (Gen. i. 3). There- 
fore Our Lord calls him the father of lies, and of 
liars it is written that they have the devil for their 
father (St. John viii. 44). The lie which Puti- 
phar's wife uttered might have brought dire dis- 
grace on Joseph (Gen. xxxix.) if the Lord had not 
intended him for great honors. If any lie could 
find an excuse, it would be the lie of St. Peter. 
He was sitting among the brutal rabble in the 



Sins Against the Eighth Commandment. 233 

court of Caiphas' palace, and saw how the inhuman 
soldiers cruelly ill-treated Our Lord. He could 
not have gone out without betraying himself, and 
was in fear that he would be treated in the same 
manner if he showed any sympathy for his poor 
captive Master. His denial was only what might 
be called an officious lie (St. Luke xxii. 55-62), 
and did not add to the ill-treatment of Our Lord. 
But oh, how deeply St. Peter repented of it ! Tra- 
dition says he wept every time that he heard the 
cock crow. The lie of Ananias and Saphira, who 
concealed a part of the money for which they had 
sold their field, and tried to deceive St. Peter, was 
punished by sudden death (Acts v. 5, 10). 

Injuring Our Neighbor in His Honor. 

Under the heading of false testimony also fall 
those various sins by which we injure our neigh- 
bor in his honor and good name. 

Honor is a real possession ; Solomon says : " A 
good name is better than great riches" (Prov. 
xxii. 1). 

And we are commanded through the mouth of 
Jesus Sirach: "Let no stain sully thy glory. 
Take care of a good name : for this shall continue 
with thee, more than a thousand treasures precious 
and great" (Ecclus. xxxiii. 24; xli. 15). 

Therefore the eighth commandment forbids us 



234 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

to attaint the good name of our neighbor by speak- 
ing ill of him, which is done by the two sins of 
calumny and detraction. Furthermore, we may 
not injure the honor of our neighbor in our own 
mind by thinking evil of him, and consequently 
suspicion and rash judgments are also forbidden. 

i. Saying anything against our neighbor which 
we know to be untrue is called calumny. 

Calumny is a sin against truth, but it also be- 
comes a sin against justice if it causes any loss to 
the calumniated person, and a sin against charity, 
if he has to suffer mortification, pain, and sorrow 
through it. How dreadful are the consequences to 
which it may lead! It may cause a man to be de- 
prived of his living, his good reputation, his office; 
his happiness and his honor may be lost forever, 
and he may be falsely accused and condemned. 
"If a serpent biteth in silence, he is no better that 
backbiteth secretly" (Ecclus. x. 1 1). " The detract- 
or is the abomination of men" (Prov. xxiv. 9). 

The dreadful part of calumny is, that generally 
it is impossible to repair what has been done. If, 
for instance, it is said of a servant-maid that she is 
not honest, and if this poor person loses her place 
and cannot get another, and is obliged to go home 
to a poor mother, and, instead of helping her, be- 
comes a burden to her, and is refused wherever she 
tries for a place, who can repair the harm done, 
— the grief of the parent, the tears of the child, the 



Sins Against the Eighth Commandment. 235 

bitterness which springs up in the heart of the inno- 
cently accused, the poverty and privations she has 
to suffer? Even if the calumniator retracts his 
words, many people will not believe him now, or 
only believe part of what he says. And will the 
retraction ever penetrate into all places where the 
calumny was spread? 

Therefore calumniators will meet with a fearful 
judgment. "They who do such things are worthy 
of death : and not only they that do them, but they 
also that consent to them that do them" (Rom. 

i- 32). 

2. We are guilty of detraction if we reveal a 
fault of our neighbor to another who was ignorant 
of it, and thus lessen his honor and good name, and 
perhaps injure him in other ways as well. But we 
may also be guilty of detraction by being silent 
when we hear others speak ill of a neighbor, al- 
though we could defend or excuse him. A Chris- 
tian should in general guard against speaking of 
his fellow-men unless he can say something good 
of them, and on no account ought he to suffer the 
absent to be spoken ill of, because they cannot de- 
fend themselves. " Hast thou heard a word against 
thy neighbor? let it die within thee, trusting that 
it will not burst thee" (Ecclus. xix. 10). 

Detraction is a sin against charity, but frequently 
also against justice. Perhaps the person spoken of 
has already corrected himself, perhaps his sin is 



236 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

not as great before God as it appears to man. We 
may see that a man has failed, but we are ignorant 
of the greatness of his temptations, we do not know 
how he struggled, how he fell. God alone knows! 

" Who art thou that judgest another man's ser- 
vant? To his own lord he standeth or falleth. 
And he shall stand, for God is able to make him 
stand" (Rom. xiv. 4). 

He who has injured his neighbor by detraction 
is no less bound to make reparation than the 
calumniator — but how will he repair the mischief 
he has done? In most cases it will be impossible. 

On the other hand, we may reveal the faults of 
another, if by doing so we can contribute to his 
amendment or prevent future mischief. Thus we 
may draw the attention of parents or masters to the 
failings of their children or their pupils, in order 
that by being punished they may learn to amend 
their ways. But we are obliged to give testimony 
against our neighbor when we are questioned by 
persons who have a right to do so, for instance, by 
the authorities, and also in cases where we can 
prevent some injury or loss which could not be pre- 
vented without our disclosing what we know. In 
all these cases, however, we must use the greatest 
prudence in order that truth may not be violated. 
"Doing the truth in charity" (Eph. iv. 15). 

3. We are not to lower our fellow-men in our own 
opinion either. This would be done if without 



Sins Against the Eighth Commandment. 237 

sufficient ground we were to suspect them of hav- 
ing done some wrong : for instance, if anything had 
been stolen, and we were to accuse another of being 
the thief, without having any external proof, and 
only trusting to the opinion we have formed of him. 
This would be a criminal suspicion, which in itself 
would be a sin against charity. But if we were to 
give utterance to our suspicion, this would be a 
rash judgment, and the sin would be much more 
serious. "Let not a man devise evil in his heart 
against his brother" (Zach. vii. 10). 

Application. 

1. The temptation to judge others, to speak ill 
of them, to repeat what we have heard of them, etc., 
is very great. Nearly all men are infected with 
this mania, and it is not even from malice, but for 
amusement that they indulge in this sin, as we 
often see in social gatherings. It is most neces- 
sary, therefore, to bridle our tongue, and not to 
speak too much. " In the multitude of words there 
shall not want sin : but he that refraineth his lips 
is most wise" (Prov. x. 19). 

2. Sincere charity, which keeps us from many 
sins, will also be our best safeguard against lying, 
false testimony, calumny, detraction, false suspi- 
cion, and rash judgment. Let us cultivate this 
beautiful virtue in our hearts and in our words. 



238 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

Let us be mild in judging others. While detest- 
ing sin, let us have compassion on the sinner, and 
remember that if he becomes embittered by our 
cavilling and uncharitableness, he will close his 
ears and heart against us, and become hardened in- 
stead of amending his ways. 

3. Let us consider that we have the same and 
perhaps greater faults than those whom we judge 
so uncharitably. Perhaps we pronounce our own 
sentence in condemning our fellow-men. 

Examples. 

Heli, the high-priest, was guilty of suspicion. 
He perceived a woman who was praying for a 
long time before the Lord. He did not hear her 
voice, but he saw her lips moving, and thought she 
was drunk, and also told her so. But the woman 
was the wife of Elcana, and had gone with him to 
Silo, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, in 
order to implore God to take from her the disgrace 
of being barren, and give her a son (1 Kings i. 
9-13). How the suspicion of the high-priest must 
have hurt that holy woman ! When on the day of 
Pentecost the Jews heard how the Apostles, filled 
with the Holy Ghost, spoke in divers tongues, 
many of them were quite ready with their judg- 
ment, and said mockingly: "These men are full 
of new wine" (Acts ii. 13). What a mistake they 



Duties Enjoined by the Eighth Commandment. 239 

had made! When the Apostle Paul had suffered 
shipwreck, but had saved himself on the isle of 
Melita with his companions, the inhabitants out of 
courtesy made a large fire that they might warm 
themselves. And when Paul had gathered together 
a bundle of sticks, and had laid them on the fire, a 
viper, coming out of the heat, fastened on his hand. 
And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging on 
his hand, they said one to another: "Undoubtedly 
this man is a murderer, who though he has escaped 
the sea, yet vengeance does not suffer him to live." 
And he indeed shaking off the beast into the fire, 
suffered no harm (Acts xxviii. 1-5). 

From all these examples we see how easy it is to 
sin by false suspicion and rash judgment. 

Duties Enjoined by the Eighth Commandment, 

The eighth commandment enjoins various duties, 
both towards ourselves and towards our neighbor. 

1. It is a duty for everybody to guard his honor 
and good name to the best of his ability, as only a 
blameless man can do useful work in human so- 
ciety. " Not rendering evil for evil, nor railing 
for railing, but contrariwise, blessing" (1 St. Peter 
iii.9). 

The best way of preserving our good name is to 
fulfil both our religious duties and the duties of our 
state, and to avoid sin and even the appearance of 



240 The Eighth Commandment of God. 

it. We must imitate the Apostle, who could say of 
himself: "Giving no offence to any man, that our 
ministry be not blamed" (2 Cor. vi. 3). 

2. We must be true and sincere in our dealings 
with our neighbor, respect and honor every one as 
a child of God, a follower of Jesus Christ, and a 
co-heir of the kingdom of heaven. It is moreover 
our duty to be prudent in our words, and to keep 
such secrets as have been confided to us. " Repeat 
not the word which thou hast heard, and disclose 
not the thing that is secret" (Ecclus. xlii. 1). "Take 
care of a good name: for this shall continue with 
thee, more than a thousand treasures precious and 
great" (Ecclus. xli. 15). 

If anybody has been injured in his good name, 
he may try to obtain satisfaction through the law. 
"Let no stain sully thy glory" (Ecclus. xxxiii. 24). 

There are cases in which it becomes a duty to 
exact that satisfaction should be made to our in- 
jured honor, especially if without its being done 
great scandal would be caused, or if the person in- 
jured in his honor would be hindered in or entirely 
cut off from his career in life. Superiors especially 
are bound to defend their good name in order that 
their subordinates may not take scandal, for it is of 
the greatest importance that a superior be blame- 
less in the eyes of those under his charge. But on 
the other hand, we may never try to repair our 
honor by revenge or retaliation, and even when we 



Duties Enjoined by the Eighth Commandment. 24 1 

are obliged to insist on reparation being made, we 
may not hate or revile our adversary. 

Application. 

As in all temptations, so, also, in speaking watch- 
fulness is the greatest safeguard against sin. The 
firm resolution not to offend with our lips will 
keep us not only from sin, but also from much an- 
noyance and vexation. David prayed thus: "Set 
a watch, O Lord, before my mouth : and a door 
round about my lips" (Ps. cxl. 3). 

2. The purity of our lips depends on the purity 
of our heart. If there is no guile or malice in our 
heart, there will be no guile or malice on our lips. 
"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh" (St. Luke vi. 45). 

Let us therefore not allow any feeling to spring 
up in our heart which cannot stand in the presence 
of God. 

3. Let us take to heart the admonition of the 
Apostle : " Let no evil speech proceed from your 
mouth : but that which is good to the edification of 
faith, that it may administer grace to the hearers" 
Eph. iv. 29). 

16 



Ube Commanfcments of tbe Cburcb. 



The Duty of Keeping: the Commandments of 
the Church. 

When our blessed Saviour ascended into heaven, 
He charged His apostles to teach and to baptize,' 
and He added these words: "Teaching them all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you" (St. 
Matt, xxviii. 20). A Catholic Christian is bound, 
therefore, to keep all those commandments which 
the apostles and their successors have given, and 
are still giving, for the Church has not only re- 
ceived power to teach and dispense the sacraments, 
but also to educate the faithful for the kingdom 
of God. She has been founded by Our Lord 
Jesus Christ as a school of salvation intended to 
prepare us for eternal life. We must therefore sub- 
mit to her. Our Saviour says expressly: "If any 
one will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as 
the heathen and publican" (St. Matt, xviii. 17). 

And in order that none may think that these 
words are not meant for all cases in which the 
Church commands anything, He adds immediate- 



The Duty of Keeping the Co?nma?idments. 243 

ly : " Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind 
upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven: and 
whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be 
loosed also in heaven" (St. Matt, xviii. 18). 

And He tells us that everything the apostles 
shall ordain shall be ordained as in His name, 
and that they are to be obeyed as if He Himself 
spoke. " He that heareth you, heareth Me : and 
he that despiseth you, despiseth Me. And he that 
despiseth Me, despiseth Him that sent Me" (St. 
Luke x. 16). 

The apostles have always considered themselves as 
the delegates of Jesus Christ, having a right to give 
regulations and commandments. In the first assem- 
bly of the Church at Jerusalem the apostles there 
present enjoined that the Christians were to ab- 
stain from idols, from blood, from things strangled, 
and from fornication, and they prefaced their de- 
cree with the following words : " It hath seemed 
good to the Holy Ghost and to us" (Acts xv. 28). 

St. Paul also considered himself the delegate 
of Jesus Christ, and consequently of God : " For 
Christ therefore we are ambassadors, God as it 
were exhorting by us" (2 Cor. v. 20). He went 
through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches 
and commanding them to keep the precepts of the 
apostles and the ancients (Acts xv. 41). He en- 
joined that the men were to pray with their heads 
uncovered, and that the women were to cover their 



244 The Commandments of the Church. 

heads (i Cor. xi. 4-6). He likewise made regula- 
tions concerning the celebration of holy commun- 
ion (1 Cor. xi. 28-34), and concerning marriages 
between believers and unbelievers (1 Cor. vii. 
12-15). And he praised the Corinthians for keep- 
ing his ordinances as he had delivered unto them 
(1 Cor. xi. 2). 

2. The commandments and precepts of the Church 
have no other object but the salvation of souls. 
They are not given arbitrarily, and are not intended 
to force us to obedience, but they are for the faith- 
ful so many means of virtue wherewith to resist 
evil and to be confirmed in good. 

God directs His Church to command those things 
to the faithful which they ought to do of them- 
selves, in order to preserve them from tepidity and 
excite them to fervor and zeal. 

The apostles and bishops have given many regu- 
lations and precepts in the councils of the Church, 
both for churches individually and for the Church 
in general. The Church, however, who has given 
the precepts, can annul them under changed cir- 
cumstances, or dispense individuals or whole classes 
of people from the duty of observing them. The 
Pope can annul the commandments of the Church 
in general, the bishop only those which were given 
for his diocese. The Pope, moreover, can dispense 
the faithful of any diocese from observing the com- 
mandments of the Church, but the bishops only 



The Duty of Keeping the Commandments. 245 

those of their own dioceses. A dispensation cannot 
be obtained without good reasons. If the reasons 
alleged do not exist, and have therefore been false- 
ly stated, a dispensation thus obtained under false 
pretences is invalid. But there are cases where a 
Catholic is dispensed by circumstances, that is to 
say, when the observance of the precept would cause 
serious inconvenience or considerable loss. But 
the non-observance of a commandment of the 
Church is never permitted where it would look like 
contempt or denial of our faith. 

3. There are six chief commandments of the 
Church. It is beyond doubt that they date from 
apostolic times, although they were only written 
down in later years. At first it was not necessary 
to write down all these precepts, because they were 
universally observed. Only when the Christians 
had grown tepid, and fervor began to cool, was it 
required to give express commandments. St. Au- 
gustine agrees with all the other Fathers and doctors 
of the Church when he says : " When the author- 
ity of Holy Scripture commands anything, it is be- 
yond doubt that we must do what we read there ; 
the same should be done when the Church con- 
stantly practises anything all over the world. To 
dispute about it is proud, overbearing folly; the 
despisers of the practices of Holy Church ought to 
be punished like the transgressors of the divine 
law." 



2 4 6 



The First Commandment of the Church. 



The six chief commandments of the Church are: 
i. To hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of 
obligation. 

2. To fast and abstain on the days appointed. 

3. To confess at least once a year. 

4. To receive the Holy Eucharist during the 
Easter time. 

5. To contribute to the support of our pastors. 

6. Not to marry persons who are not Catholics, 
or who are related to us within the fourth degree of 
kindred, nor privately without witnesses, nor to 
solemnize marriage at forbidden times. 



Gbe ffirst Commandment of tbe Cburcb. 

To hear Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation. 

The Observance of Holydays* 

This first commandment enjoins upon us to keep 
the holydays instituted by the Church in the same 
way as we keep Sundays. These holydays are in- 
tended to bring before our minds the life of Our 
Lord in its chief mysteries, and to commemorate 
the glorious virtues of the saints of God. They are 
to give us an opportunity at the same time for giv- 
ing thanks for all the graces which Almighty God 
has bestowed on the saints, and through them to us 
by the merits of Jesus Christ, for instructing, edify- 



The Observance of Holydays. 247 

ing, and sanctifying ourselves and obtaining God's 
blessing, wherefore we are to celebrate these days 
in the same way as Sunday, by prayer, hearing the 
word of God, reception of the sacraments, abstain- 
ing from servile work, and assisting at Mass. 

Everything which has been said of the observ- 
ance of Sunday applies, therefore, to holydays of 
obligation (vide p. 137). 

1. The Church obliges us to assist at holy 
Mass, because the holy Mass is the chief act of 
religion, because it brings before our minds the 
mysteries of our redemption, and obtains all graces 
for us. And, indeed, no exhortation, no command- 
ment should be needed; lively faith in Our Sav- 
iour, who offers Himself for love of us on the 
altar, should be a sufficient motive to make us go 
to Mass. The assistance at Mass used to be the 
first business of all Christians, and only when faith 
and charity began to cool was it necessary to give 
the precept that everybody was to be present at the 
celebration of the august mysteries, at least on 
those days which are the most sacred in the life of 
Our Lord, or on which the memory of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary or of the saints is celebrated. 

2. We are therefore commanded under pain of 
mortal sin to hear Mass on all Sundays and holy- 
days of obligation, and only urgent circumstances 
can excuse us from this duty. Business by no 
means dispenses us, if we can attend to it at any 



248 The First Commandment of the Chinch. 

other time. The claims of society, for instance, 
entertaining a visitor who happens to call at the 
hour of Mass, would be no excuse, as duty comes 
before politeness. A slight indisposition which 
would not be aggravated by going to Mass does 
not exempt us from the obligation. Nor may we 
think that being on a journey is a sufficient excuse, 
if we are travelling in a Catholic country where we 
are able to assist at Mass. On no account can as- 
sistance at the afternoon service take the place of 
hearing Mass. Hearing Mass on a week-day may 
show our good intention, with which God will be 
pleased, but it does not fulfil the obligation which 
we have of being present on Sundays and holydays. 
It is a most grievous sin, and one, alas! very fre- 
quently committed by the rich and well-to-do, to 
go on journeys and pleasure-trips on Sundays and 
holydays, and to neglect the duty of hearing Mass, 
a sin which is generally accompanied by desecra- 
tion of the Sunday as well. In this case the fathers 
and mothers of families are not only responsible 
for themselves, but also for their children and their 
servants. An equally grievous sin is committed 
by those who carry on public business on Sundays 
and holydays of obligation, such as judicial pro- 
ceedings, public works, etc., if others are thereby 
prevented from hearing Mass; and the sin is shared 
by all who take part in business of this kind, and 
neglect to hear Mass in consequence. And, al- 



The Observance of Holy days. 249 

though the persons who transgress this command- 
ment are not disgraced in the opinion of the world, 
as used to be the case in the Old Covenant and in 
the ages of the early Christians, the curse of God 
rests on them none the less. For him who lightly 
sets aside the commandments of the Church, that 
same Church will be the corner-stone which, while 
being a sign for the resurrection of many, will be 
the cause of his fall. 

On the contrary, illness and weak health dis- 
pense from going to Mass, if they make it impossi- 
ble to walk as far as the church, or to stay there for 
a prolonged time. Duties of our state which can- 
not possibly be neglected are likewise an excuse; 
also works of charity which must be exercised dur- 
ing the hours of service — for instance, nursing the 
sick. If all the members of a family cannot assist 
at Mass, they ought to make arrangements to go in 
turns, so that the same person does not remain at 
home always or more frequently than the others. 
And, lastly, it is to be remarked that even children 
are obliged to go to Mass on Sundays and holy- 
days as soon as they have come to the use of rea- 
son, i. e.> when they have made their first confes- 
sion. 

3. The obligation of assisting at holy Mass in- 
cludes two additional conditions : we must hear an 
entire Mass, and we must hear it devoutly. For 
the sacrifice of the holy Mass is one great act out 



250 The First Commandment of the Church, 

of which no separate part can be taken, in the same 
way as the life of Our Lord on earth was one great 
event. No essential part of Mass may be missed, 
therefore, but we must be present from the first sign 
of the cross which the priest makes to the bless- 
ing which he gives the people. Carelessness on 
this point and missing a considerable part of holy 
Mass not only deprives us of the fruit of the holy 
sacrifice, but may also quite invalidate the fulfil- 
ment of our obligation. We are, moreover, bound 
to carry out the intention of Our Lord and of holy 
Church, viz., to let the exterior action produce its 
effect in our soul, and to meditate on the holy mys- 
teries as far as we can, i. e. t to assist at them with 
devotion. 

4. Holy Mass may be heard in any church, but 
it is advisable to hear it in one's own parish 
church. This is, in the first place, a profession of 
one's communion with the other members of the 
parish, and a good example which we give to those 
who are most nearly connected with us. Besides, 
the holy sacrifice of the Mass is specially offered 
by the priest for his parishioners on Sundays and 
holydays of obligation, and also on such days as 
are no longer holydays of obligation but are still 
kept as solemn feasts by the Church— for instance, 
the feasts of some apostles. Therefore the Church 
wishes us to assist at Mass on those days, although 
the obligation of doing so no longer exists. 



The Observance of Holy days. 251 



Consideration. 

1. Holydays are devoted in a special manner to 
the consideration of the sacred mysteries which 
are celebrated on those days. They are rather days 
for devout meditation than days of rest and recrea- 
tion, although both rest and recreation are allowed. 
We are to live in the event of the feast we keep. 
At Easter, for instance, we are to rise with Christ; 
on Ascension Day we are to accompany Our 
Lord to Mount Olivet and see Him ascend to 
heaven there ; and at Pentecost we are to receive 
the Holy Ghost with the Apostles. This is the 
right spirit in which the Christian year should be 
observed. 

2. The sacrifice of the holy Mass is the source 
of all grace, the sun of the spiritual life, the great- 
est treasure we can find. If people could only see 
with their bodily eyes what graces pour down from 
heaven in holy Mass, they would throng in crowds 
to be present there. 

3. What privations and pains does not man suf- 
fer in order to earn or save a little money! And in 
the holy Mass infinite riches are offered to him — ■ 
help, strength, grace, comfort, eternal bliss! We 
see, therefore, that the Sundays and holydays are 
truly days of salvation, because every blessing for 
the soul of man is derived from them. 



252 The First Commandment of the Church. 



Examples. 

Although God Himself instituted the Sabbath, 
He did not intend that no other holyday should 
be observed. The remembrance, especially of the 
great historical events in the election and formation 
of the people of Israel, was to be kept alive by cer- 
tain days being set apart for that purpose. 

Therefore Moses instituted three great festivals 
at the command of God: 

The Passover (Pasch) in remembrance of the 
coming out of Egypt. This festival lasted seven 
days, on the first and seventh of which it was for- 
bidden to work. On this festival the Israelites 
were commanded to slay the Paschal lamb in re- 
membrance of the lamb they had eaten before their 
departure from Egypt, and with the blood of which 
they had sprinkled their door-posts, in order that 
the destroying angel, who was sent to kill the first- 
born of the Egyptians, might pass by their houses. 
They were not allowed to use any leaven during the 
Paschal week, because the Jews had not been able 
to leaven their bread in the haste of their departure, 
— wherefore this feast was also called the Feast of 
the Unleavened Bread (Lev. xiii. 6). 

The Feast of Pentecost was celebrated in memory 
of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai which 
had taken place fifty days after the departure from 



The Observance of Holy days. 253 

Egypt. It was the harvest festival at the same 
time, and thanksofferings were made, and joyful 
banquets were held (Lev. xxiii. 16). The Feast of 
Tabernacles was a festival of thanksgiving for the 
harvest safely brought in, and was also intended to 
keep before the minds of the Israelites the remem- 
brance of their wanderings in the desert, where 
they had been obliged to live in tents. It lasted 
eight days, and all those who were of the race of 
Israel had to dwell in bowers made of branches 
(Lev. xxiii. 42), and every day holocausts and liba- 
tions were offered to the Lord (Lev. xxiii. 34). 

The Feast of Trumpets was the New Year of 
the Jews. It fell in our month of September, and 
was announced by the sound of trumpets (Lev. 
xxiii. 24). 

Besides these feasts a day of penance was kept, 
the great Day of Atonement, five days before the 
Feast of Tabernacles. It was a strict fast-day, and 
the Israelites were not allowed to touch any food 
from the eve of the feast to the evening of the day 
itself (Lev. xxiii. 27). 

The New Moons were half-holydays. Work was 
allowed on them, but solemn sacrifices had to be 
offered. 

These festivals were all ordained by God Him- 
self. Later on, the Feast, of Purim was added to 
the number as a day of thanksgiving for the happy 
deliverance of the Israelites by the intercession of 



254 The Second Commandment of the Church, 

Queen Esther, when Aman, the minister of King 
Assuerus, had planned their destruction (Esth. vii. 
7 etseg.). After the Machabees had cleansed the 
Temple desecrated by King Antiochus, and conse- 
crated it again, the Feast of Dedication was kept 
every year (2 Mach. x. 6). Our Lord Himself went 
to Jerusalem for this feast (St. John x. 22), and 
He also used to go up for the Feast of the Pasch, 
thus giving us an example of faithful observance 
of holydays. Of all the devout people in the Old 
Testament who distinguished themselves by their 
fidelity in assisting at the religious services of the 
Jews we will only mention the elder Tobias, of 
whom it is written: "When all went to the golden 
calves which Jeroboam, king of Israel, had made, 
he alone fled the company of all and went to Jeru- 
salem to the Temple of the Lord, and there adored 
the Lord God of Israel, offering faithfully all his 
first-fruits, and his tithes" (Tob. i. 5, 6). 

Gbe Secono CommanDment of tbc Cburcb. 

To keep the days of fasting and abstinejice. 

Fasting and Abstinence* 

The ecclesiastical year is not only intended to 
remind us of the life, passion, and death of Jesus 
Christ, but also to furnish us with the means of 
modelling our lives on the life of Our Saviour. 



Fasting and Abstinence. 255 

Therefore we rejoice on days which invite us to 
thanksgiving and joy, and we mourn on those days 
on which Our Lord Himself mourned, suffered, and 
died for the human race. One of the chief expres- 
sions of mourning is abstaining from food and 
superfluous drink. Therefore the Church has in- 
stituted fasts for the days of mourning, and has 
given certain precepts on the way of observing 
these fasts. 

1. Fasting means in general abstaining from 
lawful sensual enjoyment, and in a more restricted 
sense imposing on ourselves privations with regard 
to the quantity of food we take, and also with re- 
gard to those kinds of food which please the palate 
and which we are least inclined to give up. First 
among these rank the different kinds of flesh-meat, 
wherefore their use is forbidden on fast-days. We 
must abstain from them in the spirit of obedience 
to the Church as well as from love of God and Our 
Saviour, in order to do penance for our sins and 
to exercise ourselves in virtue. Fasting must be 
done therefore in devout and penitential disposi- 
tions and with the earnest intention of satisfying 
the Divine Justice in some small measure for our 
sins. Fasting is calculated at the same time to 
suppress our evil desires, to lessen temptation, and 
to render our mind more capable of contemplating 
divine things. The benefit of fasting is summed 
up by the Church in the Preface of the holy Mass 



256 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

for the season of Lent: "0 God, who by bodily 
fasting dost repress vices, elevate the mind, bestow 
virtue and rewards," etc. 

2. Fasting is expressly enjoined in Holy Scrip- 
ture, especially in time of great distress, as a means 
of regaining the favor of God. 

The Lord spoke through the Prophet Joel the fol- 
lowing words to the people of Israel: "Be con- 
verted to Me with all your heart, in fasting, and in 
weeping, and in mourning" (Joel ii. 12). 

It is also recommended as a powerful remedy 
against sin, and even as a protection against the 
spirits of darkness. " But this kind is not cast out 
but by prayer and fasting" (St. Matt. xvii. 20). 

Fasting done in a right spirit gains merit for us 
in the sight of God. But this applies only to fast- 
ing practised with humility, not to Pharisaical fast- 
ing which some people parade before men in order 
to appear virtuous, as the Pharisees did of old. 
Therefore Our Lord admonishes us to fast in secret, 
and not to let men see that we do so, and He adds: 
"Thy Father, who seeth in secret, will repay thee" 
(St. Matt. vi. 18). 

But it would be contrary to the spirit of the 
Church if we were to abstain from flesh-meat on 
the days appointed, but compensate ourselves by 
other kinds of delicate and costly food and drink, 
which often flatter the palate more than flesh-meat. 
The commandment was originally worded thus: 



Fasting and Abstinence. 257 

Thou shalt abstain from flesh-meat and all dainty 
food. Fasting must impose a privation, a sacrifice, 
else it has no value. 

3. There are two kinds of fast-days: fast-days 
in the strict sense of the word, on which only one 
full meal is allowed; and days of abstinence, on 
which the use of flesh-meat is forbidden. But cer- 
tain days are days of fasting and abstinence at the 
same time; on these we are allowed to have only 
one full meal, and must abstain from flesh-meat as 
well. 

The fast-days, on which we are allowed to have 
only one full meal, are : All the days of Lent except 
Sundays, but not the holydays occurring in this sea- 
son; the Ember Days, viz., Wednesday, Friday, and 
Saturday after (1) the first Sunday in Lent, after (2) 
Whitsunday, (3) after the fourteenth day of Septem- 
ber, and (4) after the third Sunday of Advent ; and 
the vigils, /. e., the eves, of Whitsunday, of the As- 
sumption, of All Saints, and of Christmas. On these 
days it was the custom not to eat anything before 
sunset, but, condescending to the increasing weak- 
ness of mankind, the Church first allowed food to be 
taken before sunset, and afterwards to change the 
hour of the principal meal to noon, and to take at 
night some slight refreshment (collation), which, 
however, is not to exceed eight ounces. Besides 
the full meal and collation, custom has made it law- 
ful to take about two ounces of bread, without but- 
17 



258 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

ter, and a cup of some warm liquid, as coffee or 
tea, in the morning. This precept is binding on 
all Christians without difference of sex from their 
completed twenty-first year to the beginning of old 
age. Dispensed from its observance, however, are 
invalids, hard-working people, travellers, and sol- 
diers in garrison as well as in camp. Delicate 
people, also, and those recovering from an illness 
are exempt. Persons who cannot bear fasting with- 
out detriment to their health can obtain a dispensa- 
tion, but they must apply for it to their parish priest 
or confessor, as nobody may dispense himself. 

It is allowed, also, to drink out of meal times in 
order to quench thirst or to help digestion. But 
here also we must observe temperance, and only 
satisfy the want of the body. Abstaining from 
drink is a very appropriate way of supplying for 
fasting when we are dispensed from the obligation. 

c. The days of abstinence on which we are 
obliged to abstain from flesh-meat, but may have 
the ordinary number of meals, are : All the Fridays 
of the year, and in some dioceses all the Saturdays 
as well. Formerly it was forbidden to eat white 
meats (milk, butter, eggs, cheese, etc.), on those 
days, but this is now allowed in most dioceses. 
This precept is binding for all who have attained 
their seventh year, and for those as well who have 
passed the age of sixty. But even here the Church 
mitigates the law in certain cases. For instance, 



Pasting and Abstinence. 259 

in most pastorals the use of flesh-meat is conceded 
to travellers, as they often have not the opportunity 
of procuring other kinds of food; moreover, to 
those who have not a household of their own and 
are obliged to eat at the table of non-Catholics; to 
soldiers, except on Good Friday, and to the very poor 
whose destitution allows them no choice of food. 
But it is always forbidden to eat fish and flesh-meat 
at the same meal on a fast-day. 

(a 7 .) Days of both fasting and abstinence, i.e., 
days on which it is not allowed to have more than 
one full meal nor to eat flesh-meat, are: All the 
Fridays of Lent, the Fridays of the Ember weeks, 
Ash- Wednesday, and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 
and Saturday of Holy Week — for in some dioceses 
the Wednesday of Holy Week is included in this 
rule. 

The rules for fasting for each diocese are pub- 
lished every year by a Lenten pastoral, and are 
strictly binding for us. 

4. The Pope can dispense in general, and the 
bishops their subordinates individually. Parish 
priests and confessors can only give dispensations 
when this is expressly mentioned in the Lenten 
pastoral, but they are the judges whether any per- 
son be bound to fast or whether he be exempted. 
A person dispensed from abstinence is not thereby 
dispensed from fasting, and vice versa, if he is 
allowed to have several meals a day, this does not 



260 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

imply that he need not keep the abstinence. And 
in these, as in all other cases, the rule holds good 
that a dispensation attained under false pretences 
is invalid. 

Persons who are travelling or staying in a strange 
diocese may avail themselves of any mitigation or 
dispensation granted for that diocese, but a trav- 
eller or a stranger may not make use of a dispen- 
sation of his diocese which is not accepted in the 
diocese where he is staying at the time, unless he 
have a personal dispensation. 

5. Some people condemn the custom of abstain- 
ing from flesh-meat on certain days, and in support 
of their opinion quote these words of Our Lord: 
" Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a 
man" (St. Matt. xv. 11). 

And again the words of the Apostle Paul : " If 
any of them that believe not invite you, and you 
be willing to go: eat of anything that is set before 
you, asking no question for conscience' sake" (1 
Cor. x. 27). 

But to their assertions we oppose the following 
explanations : 

The scribes and Pharisees had reproached the 
disciples for not washing their hands before sitting 
down to eat. But this precept was nowhere found 
in the Law. On the other hand, it was written in 
the Law that parents ought to be honored. There- 
fore Our Lord replied: How can you reproach 



Fasting and Abstinence. 261 

My disciples for not observing a mere custom, 
whereas you do not keep the Law, which commands 
to honor your parents, for you teach: Whosoever 
shall say to father or mother: The gift whatsoever 
proceedeth from me shall profit thee, need not 
honor his parents. Therefore your doctrine makes 
you transgress the Law. To eat with unwashed 
hands does not defile a man, but an unclean heart 
defiles him, for from such a heart come forth evil 
thoughts, murders, adulteries, etc. — We see, there- 
fore, that Our Lord did not refer at all to any for- 
bidden food. 

When St. Paul says that it is lawful to buy in 
the market anything which is offered for sale, with- 
out being in conscience bound to inquire, and that 
we may eat anything which is put before us by 
unbelievers, he alludes to flesh offered to idols. 
The Christians were not allowed knowingly to eat 
of it, but the Apostle tells them that they are not 
bound to ask in the market, or in the house of un- 
believers, whether the meat placed before them has 
been used for sacrifice. But he adds : " If any one 
says : This has been sacrificed to idols : do not eat 
of it for this reason that another may not take 
scandal." This text of Holy Scripture establishes 
exactly the contrary of what the adversaries of 
fasting wish to prove by quoting it. 

The apostle further predicts that people would 
arise, who, blinded by the devil, would forbid mar- 



262 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

riage and the use of certain meats. This came 
to pass, when several heretics like Marcion and 
Manes, the founders of the Marcionites and Mani- 
cheans, prohibited both the former and the latter. 
But these heretics wished to abolish marriage alto- 
gether because they considered it impure, and 
Manes entirely forbid the use of flesh-meat, of milk 
and wine, and of certain other kinds of food. The 
Church, however, does not pronounce flesh-meat to 
be unclean in itself, else we should never be al- 
lowed to touch it, but she enjoins upon the Chris- 
tian to abstain from it on the days dedicated to the 
memory of the passion and death of Our Lord as 
a little sacrifice which we are to unite with the 
great sacrifice Our Saviour offered for him. Jesus 
Christ offered His own sacred flesh for us, and 
we are to abstain from the use of flesh on those 
days on which we principally commemorate and 
meditate on the passion of our blessed Lord. But 
that even on those days it is not absolutely 
forbidden to eat flesh-meat appears from the 
exceptions which the Church admits in many 
cases. 

The Church, has, however, as we have before ob- 
served, the right of giving commandments, and she 
uses this right for leading Christians to higher 
perfection. 

That the apostles themselves made regulations 
with regard to the different kinds of food to be 



"^acbeus safo: IFf t bave wrongeb anv man of anything, H restore 
btm fourfold."— St. %ukc xix. 8. 




COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS. 

" JEltas saio to Hcbab : fln tfcis place, wberein tbe boqs bave licfeeo 
tbe blooo of IWabotb. tbeg sball lick rbs blooo also. "-3 Ikings rri. 19, 

SEVENTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 



The Seventh and Tenth Commandments of God. 

" Thou shalt not steal.— Thou shalt not covet 
thy neighbor's goods." 

Reflection. — We ought to be content with those 
goods which God in His goodness has given us, be 
they few or many, and not to seek anxiously to enrich 
ourselves or to gratify our passions, lest we be thereby 
led to covet and appropriate to ourselves what belongs 
to our neighbor. We should be just towards every 
one and make a good use of all our means. Riches 
are often dangerous to their possessors, for it is, in- 
deed, very difficult to refrain from gratifying one's 
passions, when one has at his disposal so many means 
to do so. Honesty is the best policy, for whatever 
is unjustly acquired does not confer true happiness in 
this life and forfeits, besides, the happiness of the next. 

Practice. — Let us pay our debts, respect the prop- 
erty of others, avoid most conscientiously every act 
of injustice, make a good use of the means God has 
entrusted to us, and give liberally to God's Church 
and poor. 

Prayer. — my God, deign to detach me from all 
inordinate affection for earthly goods, and enable me 
always to deal justly and charitably with my fellow- 
men. Mary, help me to make a good use of the 
goods of this world. Amen. 



Fasting and Abstinence. 263 

used can be proved from the fact that they com- 
manded the faithful to abstain from blood and from 
things strangled (Acts xv. 20). 

Application. 

1. It is written : "The kingdom of heaven 
suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away" 
(St. Matt. xi. 12.) In fasting we do violence to 
ourselves in repressing our sensual appetites. Let 
us, therefore, consider fasting in the light of truth, 
not as a burden, but rather as a means of virtue, 
and let us gladly seize this means in order to 
weaken our evil desires and to fortify ourselves in 
the warfare against sensuality. 

2. We may sometimes be in a position not to be 
able to observe the law of fasting in its whole ex- 
tent, and to be obliged to avail ourselves of the 
modifications which the Church allows in certain 
cases, or ask for a total dispensation from fasting. 
But let us conscientiously do all we can, and, if our 
bodies are not able to fast, let us keep up the spirit 
of fasting, at least. Let us supply by other good 
works for what we are unable to do by bodily 
penance. 

" Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen ? 
loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles 
that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and 
break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the 



264 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

hungry, and bring the needy and the harborless 
into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, 
cover him, and despise not thy own flesh" (Is. 
lviii. 6, 7). 

3. Fasting must be accompanied by a supernat- 
ural intention. It must be done in a true spirit of 
penance, with horror for past sins, and with a firm 
resolution of amendment, else it has no value in 
the eyes of God. At the time of the Prophet Isaias 
the Israelites fasted, but their fast was not pleasing 
to God ; therefore Isaias exclaimed : " Why have 
we fasted, and Thou hast not regarded : have we 
humbled our souls, and Thou has not taken notice? 
Behold in the day of your fast your own will is 
found. Behold you fast for debates and strife, and 
strike with the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you 
have done until this day, to make your cry to be 
heard on high" (Is. lviii. 3, 4). 

4. A way of fasting which is very pleasing to 
God is to abstain from or curtail food in order to 
gain the means of giving alms. This good work 
adds to the merit of fasting, in the same way as it 
makes prayer more acceptable to God. The Angel 
Raphael declared unto Tobias: "Prayer is good 
with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasure 
of gold: for alms delivereth from death, and the 
same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh 
to find mercy and life everlasting" (Tob. xii. 8, 9). 

For this reason fasting-days used always to be 



Fasting and Abstinence. 265 

days of almsgiving in Catholic families, and in 
many Catholic houses it is still the custom to give 
alms regularly on all Fridays. 



Examples. 

No practice of the Catholic Church is more 
strongly confirmed by Holy Scripture than the 
precept of fasting. 

In the Old Covenant very strict fasts were kept. 
As soon as any affliction came over Israel, the 
whole nation fasted. When the eleven tribes had 
lost a battle against the Benjamites, they went to 
the house of God and sat and wept before the Lord 
and fasted till the evening to express their mourn- 
ing (Judges xx. 26) . When David heard of the death 
of Abner, his general, he fasted the whole day (2 
Kings iii. 35). The inhabitants of Jabes also 
fasted after the death of Saul (1 Kings xxxi. 13), 
and David fasted when his child was ill (2 Kings 
xii. 16). When Holofernes, the general of Na- 
buchodonosor, went to war against Israel, the people 
were seized with dread and horror, and they " cried 
to the Lord with great earnestness, and they hum- 
bled their souls in fastings and prayers, both they 
and their wives" (Judith iv. 8). The Jews, likewise, 
proclaimed a fast on hearing that King Assuerus 
had commanded their nation to be destroyed (Esth. 
iv. 3), and when Esther resolved to intercede 



266 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

with the king and to beg him to revoke the cruel 
edict, not only she and her maids fasted for three 
days and nights, but all the Jews who dwelt at 
Susan did the same (Esth. iv. 16). 

Even the pagan people of Ninive published a 
fast, and men and beasts touched no food, and the 
cattle were not allowed to graze nor to drink 
water, in order that God might be reconciled and 
His pardon obtained (Jonas iii. 7). 

Pious Jews used to keep regular fasts We read, 
for instance, of Judith that, after she had become a 
widow she fasted all the days of her life except 
the Sabbaths, the new moons, and festivals (Judith 
viii. 6). And of the venerable widow Anna we 
know that she served God night and day with prayer 
and fasting (St. Lake ii. 3). Many other examples 
could be quoted. 

Christ Our Lord confirmed by His example what 
the devout people of the Old Covenant had prac- 
tised. He fasted forty days and forty nights in 
preparation for His public ministry (St. Matt. iv. 2). 
The apostles followed the example of their Mas- 
ter, and prepared for all important business not 
only by prayer, but also by fasting. They fasted 
as often as they exercised the sacred ministry, and 
when the Holy Ghost said to them: "Separate 
Me Saul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I 
have taken them," they fasted again before laying 
their hands on them (Acts xiii. 2, 3). 



Fasting and Abstinence. 267 

St. Paul himself, when he was waiting for a 
further revelation after the wonderful vision which 
he had seen on the way to Damascus, did not 
eat or drink for three days (Acts ix. 9), and 
among the many hardships he bore, he mentions 
fasting as one (2 Cor. xi. 2). He fasted together 
with Barnabas before ordaining priests in all the 
churches (Acts xiv. 22). In imitation of this 
custom of the apostles, the bishops still fast in 
our day before ordaining priests and consecrating 
churches. 

The fasts of the early Christians were very 
strict, for they took no food nor touched any wine 
the whole day till sunset. Pious Christians ate 
nothing but a little bread and salt after sunset, 
and some touched no food at all for several days 
in Holy Week. A fast was kept in remembrance 
of the forty days' fast of Our Lord; in the begin- 
ning, however, it was not regulated by any precept, 
but was the natural outcome of Christian piety. 
Besides, there were fasts on the fourth and sixth days 
of the week (Wednesday and Friday) : on Wednes- 
day because the Jews had resolved on that day to 
take Jesus Christ prisoner, and on Friday because 
it was the day of the Passion. The apostolic con- 
stitutions say that Jesus Christ Himself instituted 
these fasts, and they threaten lay persons who 
do not observe them with excommunication, and 
bishops and clerics with suspension from their 



268 The Second Commandment of the Church. 

office. These fasts were called the Fasts of the 
Stations. They are mentioned in the "Pastor" 
by Hennas, one of the earliest Christian writers. 
Hernias relates: "When I was fasting on the top 
of a mountain, and giving thanks to God, I saw 
the Pastor sit beside me, and He asked: * Why 
comest thou hither so early?' And I answered: 
4 Because I keep the Station.' And He asked: 
'What is the Station?' And I answered: 'The 
fast.'" 

In the course of time the manner of fasting was 
regulated by the Church and the Ember Days were 
also added. At the beginning of each season people 
fasted in thanksgiving for the benefits they had re- 
ceived in the last quarter of the year, and in ex- 
piation of the sins committed during that period. 
This fast was intended at the same time to draw 
down the grace of the Holy Ghost on the priests to 
be ordained on Ember Saturday. These quarterly 
fasts occupy three days (Wednesday, Friday, and 
Saturday), as the quarter of the year is made up of 
three months. They were first introduced in the 
churches of Rome, and spread from thence over 
the whole of Christendom. 

All the Eastern Churches, those most ancient nur- 
series of Christianity, have retained the practice of 
fasting even after their separation from the Roman 
Church; they keep a much more rigid fast even 
than that practised by the Church of Rome. 



Yearly Confession and Easter Communion. 269 



Gbe Gbfro ano tfourtb Commandments of tbe 
Cburcb. 

To confess our sins at least once a year, and to re- 
ceive the Holy Eucharist during the Easter time. 

On Yearly Confession and Easter Communion* 

It is one of the consequences of our fallen state, 
that we carry in ourselves many defects and im- 
perfections, that we often succumb in the struggle 
with our evil inclinations and the inborn perverse- 
ness of our heart, and sometimes fall more or less 
voluntarily into grievous sins. But God in His 
great mercy has given us a means by which we 
may cleanse ourselves, heal our soul, renew our fer- 
vor, and obtain grace and pardon. This means is 
the Sacrament of Penance. But even this did not 
satisfy His loving heart. In His infinite mercy 
He gave Himself for our food as a pledge of eter- 
nal life. This act of love ought to impel us to 
procure for ourselves such a wonderful treasure of 
grace, and to preserve ourselves pure so as to be 
able to receive it worthily. 

And, indeed, in the early ages of the Church all 
those who assisted at Mass received the body of 
the Lord. It was only when tepidity began to 
spread among Christians that the faithful had to be 
compelled to receive holy communion at Christ- 



270 Third and Fourth Commandments of the Church. 

mas, Easter, and Pentecost ; and at last the Fourth 
Lateran Council decreed: "All the faithful of both 
sexes who have come to the age of reason must 
faithfully confess their sins to their own priest in 
secret at least once a year, and reverently receive 
the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (holy com- 
munion) at least at Easter, else they shall be re- 
fused entrance to the Church, and after death they 
shall not receive Christian burial." 

Examples. 

The holy King Louis IX. of France went to con- 
fession every Friday. St. Francis of Sales and St. 
Charles Borromeo confessed every week, and their 
whole household every month. Pope Clement VII. 
confessed every day. St. Francis Xavier also con- 
fessed every day when he had an opportunity. If 
these holy men, who kept such guard over their 
words and actions, felt the need of purifying them- 
selves from their sins every week, nay, every day, 
how much greater will be the need of those who 
swallow sin like water! 

St. John Chrysostom teaches us how dangerous 
it is to live in mortal sin and to put off confession. 
He used to exhort his hearers to have recourse to 
the Sacrament of Penance as often as they had 
offended God by sin. " I am ready dry and night 
to hear confession. If anybody were to sin at 
night, let him come and wake me from my sleep, 



Yearly Confession and Easter Communion, 271 

and I will hear his confession." The saint, more- 
over, strongly blames those who only go to com- 
munion three times in the year. 

Frequent Communion. 

We are told of the early Christians in the second 
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that they daily 
broke bread from house to house. The Syriac ver- 
sion of the Acts says expressly that the reception 
of holy communion naturally depended on the oppor- 
tunities of offering the holy sacrifice of the Mass. 
When Mass could be celebrated every day, the 
faithful communicated daily. Those who could 
not receive holy communion every day, according 
to St. Justin Martyr, communicated every Sunday 
at least. During the times of persecution, when 
the Christians could not assemble regularly, they 
were allowed to carry home the Blessed Sacrament, 
in. order to refresh themselves with it every day. 
St. Cyprian says : " As we are to progress daily in 
our sanctification, we are to receive Our Lord daily, 
that His grace may increase in us." St Basil re- 
lates that in his congregation at New Caesarea it 
was the custom to communicate four times a week: 
on Sundays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. 
The following beautiful words are taken from St. 
Ambrose: "Receive every day what profits thee 
every day. Live in such a manner that thou mayst 



272 The Fifth Commandment of the Church . 

be worthy to receive daily. He who is not worthy 
to receive every day, is not worthy to receive after 
a year." 

Gbe jfiftb Commandment of tbe Cburcb. 

To contribute to the support of our pastors. 

The Support of Our Pastors. 

That the faithful are bound to contribute to the 
support of their pastors is proven by repeated pas- 
sages of Holy Scripture. We read in the Old Testa- 
ment: "All the first fruits which the children of 
God offer belong to the priest" (Num. v. 9, 10). 
And that Ezechias commanded "the people that 
dwelt in Jerusalem to give to the priests and the 
Levites their portion, that they might attend to the 
law of the Lord" (2 Paral. xxxi. 4). 

Thus in the Old Law the people were obliged to 
give the first fruits of their harvests to the priest, 
for the Lord said to Moses : " Speak to the children 
of Israel, and thou shalt say to them : When you 
shall have entered into the land which I will give 
you, and shall reap your corn, you shall bring 
sheaves of wheat, the first fruits of your harvest, to 
the priest" (Lev. xxiii. 10). 

While no definite amount is specified under the 
New Law, simple justice requires that we should 
provide for our pastor, for he works for us and 



The Fourth Degree of Kindred. 273 

prays for us. He offers the holy sacrifice of the 
Mass for us, he administers the sacraments to us, 
he consoles us in our trouble, he visits us when we 
are sick, and he closes our eyes after we are dead. 
Surely " the laborer is worthy of his hire" (Luke 
x. 7), and our blessed Lord has said: "They that 
preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel" (1 
Cor. ix. 4). 

Gbe Sijtb Commandment of tbe Gburcb. 

Not to marry persons who are not Catholics, or 
who are related to us within the fourth degree of 
kindred, nor privately without witnesses, nor to 
solemnize marriage at forbidden times. 

The Fourth Degree of Kindred* 

The meaning of the commandment not to marry 
within the fourth degree of kindred is that no one 
is allowed to marry another within the fourth de- 
gree of blood relationship. 

Therefore all who are third cousins (who are in 
the fourth degree of kindred) or in nearer relation- 
ship cannot be married without a dispensation 
from the Church allowing them to do so. God's 
law does not forbid first, second, or third cousins 
to get married, but the Church's law forbids it, and 
thus it can in special cases dispense from such 
laws. 



274 The Sixth Commandment of the Church. 



Marrying: Privately. 

The command not to marry privately means that 
none should marry without the blessing of God's 
priests or without witnesses. 

If persons wishing to be married suspect that 
there is any impediment existing between them, 
they should express their doubts and the reasons 
for them to the priest. 

If any Catholic goes to be married before a Prot- 
estant minister, he is, by the laws of the Church in 
the United States, excommunicated. One who dies 
wilfully excommunicated dies in mortal sin, and 
no Mass or funeral prayers can be publicly offered 
for him, nor can he be buried in consecrated 
ground. 

Forbidden Times* 

The festivals which commemorate the mysteries 
of our redemption ought to be kept in a spirit of 
recollection, and it stands to reason, therefore, that 
during the holy seasons of the year all noisy amuse- 
ments ought to be avoided. First among these are 
weddings, on which at other times even conscien- 
tious Christians may indulge in extraordinary dem- 
onstrations of joy. The principal holy seasons of 
the year are Advent and Lent. During these times 
the celebration of marriages and of birthday feasts 



Forbidden Times. 275 

was entirely forbidden in the early Church. Later 
on there were added three weeks as a preparation 
for the birth of St. John the Baptist (in imitation of 
the four weeks before the nativity of Our Lord), in 
place of which some countries kept the Rogation 
week, St. Mark's day, and the period from Pente- 
cost to Corpus Christi. In later years it was per- 
mitted to celebrate marriages quietly during these 
seasons. At last the Roman Church, the faithful 
guardian of unity, insisted on uniformity in this 
matter. 

According to the present practice of the Church, 
the seasons in which it is not allowed to solemnize 
marriages are from the first Sunday in Advent to 
the Epiphany, and from Ash Wednesday to Low 
Sunday. 

During these seasons marriages may only be con- 
tracted with the special permission of the Bishop. 
But even where an express permission is not neces- 
sary, marriages must be celebrated quietly at least; 
no solemn Mass may be sung, nor may the priest 
give the blessing which is generally pronounced 
over the bride and bridegroom after the Pater 
Noster and Ite Missa est. All worldly rejoicings 
must be avoided, and dancing especially is for- 
bidden. 

From what we have said above, it will be seen 
that the custom, unfortunately prevalent in many 
places, of having dances on New Year's Eve or 



276 The Sixth Commandment of the Church. 

New Year's Day, or of giving balls in Lent or go- 
ing to them, is an unjustifiable abuse, which causes 
the giver of these feasts as well as his guests to 
commit grievous sin, so that a priest only does his 
duty in raising his voice against it. 



transgression of tbe Commandments, 

Sin in General* 

As the will of God is expressed in the command- 
ments, everybody who transgresses a commandment 
acts contrary to the will of God; he therefore com- 
mits sin, and is worthy of punishment in the sight 
of God. " He that keepeth the commandments, 
keepeth his own soul : but he that neglecteth his 
own way, shall die" (Prov. xix. 16). 

If we do anything which God has forbidden, we 
sin by deed; if we omit to do anything which God 
has commanded, we sin by omission. But we can 
also sin by thought and desire; for instance, by 
wishing to do anything forbidden if we could do it, 
and by being resolved to do it if we had the oppor- 
tunity. We can also sin by words. " No thought 
escapeth him, and no word can hide itself from 
him" (Ecclus. xlii. 20). "Let no evil speech pro- 
ceed from your mouth" (Eph. iv. 29). 

1. For committing a sin, it is necessary know- 
ingly and deliberately to do or omit something. 
We must know the commandment or prohibition, 
and do the sin of our own free will. If we do not 
know that a thing is commanded or prohibited, we 



2;3 Transgression of the Commandments, 

commit no sin in doing or omitting it, for in this 
ease knowledge is wanting. In the same way if we 
do anything sinful without intending to do it, either 
by not being quite conscious of the action or by 
having no free choice, there is no consent of the 
will. It is not the action but the intention which 
constitutes sin. Where there is no consent of the 
will, there is no sin. 

2. Therefore those persons do not sin who trans- 
gress a commandment from ignorance or error, un- 
consciously or without consent of the will. Igno- 
rance and error, however, are only an excuse if they 
are invincible, i.e., if they exist in a person's mind 
without that person's fault. 

Thus, for instance, a person who eats flesh-meat 
on an abstinence day because he does not know it 
is an abstinence day is only excused from sin if it 
was impossible for him to know it. But he is not 
excused if he has taken no pains to find out which 
are the abstinence and fast-days observed in the 
diocese where he is staying. For if we can procure 
information, but do not use sufficient diligence to 
obtain it, we are not free from blame. 

We should likewise sin if we thought a thing not 
lawful and did it all the same, or if we thought 
something was of obligation and omitted to do it. 
whether our judgment in the matter was right or 
not, for we should have the intention of breaking 
the commandment. 



Sin in General. 279 

3. In the same way, as only those doubts against 
faith are sins which are voluntary, only those 
thoughts and desires are criminal which we incite 
in ourselves of our own free will or in which we 
voluntarily take pleasure. Involuntary thoughts 
which frequently assail a man, and under which he 
often suffers very much, and the concupiscence of 
our poor human nature, that tinder for the spark of 
sin, which remains in us even after original sin has 
been obliterated, are not sinful, but they may be- 
come so if they are not repressed and are allowed 
to get the better of us. 

4. All sins are not equally great. Their guilt 
depends both on the importance of the law and the 
greatness of the virtue which they violate. It also 
depends on the degree of malice from which they 
proceed, and the consequences which can be fore- 
seen to arise from them, on the condition, the qual- 
ities, and the duties of the person who commits the 
sin, on the circumstances under which it is com- 
mitted, etc. A sin of injustice committed by a rich 
man is more grievous than the sin of a poor man, 
who, driven by distress, appropriates strange goods. 
A person whose duty it is to watch over the observ- 
ance of the laws sins more grievously than another 
by breaking them. He who in cold blood lies in 
wait for a fellow-man in order to kill him, commits 
an incomparably more grievous sin than he who is 
carried away by anger to commit a similar deed. 



280 Transgression of the Commandments. 

Holy Scripture itself distinguishes between graver 
and lighter sins. 

The sin of the callous Jews was greater than the 
sin of Sodom (Lam. iv. 6). The sin of the high- 
priests who delivered Our Lord to the heathen 
judge was greater than the sin of that judge himself, 
for our blessed Lord said to Pilate: " Thou shouldst 
not have any power against Me, unless it were 
given thee from above. Therefore he that deliv- 
ered Me to thee hath the greater sin" (St. John xix. 
n). "Why seest thou the mote that is in thy 
brother's eye, and seest not the beam that is in thy 
own eye" (St. Matt. vii. 3). 

5. A transgression done with full knowledge and 
consent in a matter of importance is a sin leading 
to spiritual death, or a mortal sin. But full consent 
does not necessarily mean that degree of malice 
which commits sin because it is sin, but it means 
that we know the sin which we are about to commit 
to be sin, or that through our own fault we are 
ignorant of its being such (culpable ignorance). 
Mortal sin deprives man of sanctifying grace, robs 
him of all the merit of the good works he has done, 
and makes it impossible for him to gain new merit 
with God. It weakens his natural disposition for 
good and makes the sinner the slave of Satan. " He 
that committeth sin is of the devil" (1 St. John iii. 8) . 
The essence of mortal sin consists in contempt 
of God, because man opposes his will to the will of 



Sin in General. 281 

God, gives preference to creatures, and severs the 
bond of charity which unites him with God. The 
sinner does all this in spite of the infinite graces of 
creation, redemption, and sanctification which he 
has received from the Blessed Trinity. When man 
ceases to be in communion with God, he has no 
longer a share in life. His soul is given over to 
death and eternal damnation. " But he that shall 
sin against Me shall hurt his own soul. All that 
hate Me love death" (Prov. viii. 36). 

6. As sin separates us from God, it is the great- 
est evil, nay, we may say, sin is the only evil. 
Labor and toil, suffering and sorrow not only can- 
not deprive us of the grace of God, but, if borne 
patiently, they increase it in our soul. " For I am 
sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, 
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us 
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus Our 
Lord" (Rom. viii. $%, 39). 

As mortal sin deprives us of the Supreme and 
Eternal Good for time and eternity, therefore a 
Christian ought to lose all worldly possessions and 
suffer every kind of adversity rather than commit a 
mortal sin. 

7. A transgression committed in a matter of lit- 
tle importance, or without full knowledge, or with- 
out full consent of the will, is a venial sin. It 



282 Transgression of the Commandments. 

differs from mortal sin both in its character and 
in its consequences. It is no turning away from 
God, no entire disregard of God, and therefore it 
does not destroy charity. It does not totally de- 
prive the soul of sanctifying grace, and does not 
draw down eternal damnation on the sinner. Man 
can atone for it by his own meritorious works; ve- 
nial sin can be remitted without confession. It is 
possible even for the just to commit it through hu- 
man frailty. 

Nevertheless we must not be imprudent, but 
beware most carefully even of venial sin. For 
although it does not entirely estrange us from God, 
it is always a stain on the soul and weakens char- 
ity in us. It feeds concupiscence in our heart and 
paves the way for mortal sin. And as God is 
obliged by His justice to punish the smallest 
offence, even the soul attainted by venial sin in- 
curs His punishment, and must expiate its fault in 
this life by all kinds of temporal penalties, and 
after death by the pains of purgatory. Moreover, 
venial sin deprives man of many graces by which 
he might have gained new merit. 

8. In most cases we can recognize whether a sin 
is a mortal or a venial one, but it is not always 
possible. However, we shall generally find relia- 
ble judges in our own discernment, in the knowl- 
edge we have gained by instruction and by our 
Christian training, in the judgments of others, in 



Sin in General. 283 

our own intention and our own conscience. But 
wherever there is a doubt in the matter, a Christian 
is bound, for the sake of the future which awaits 
him, to seek advice from his confessor in the tri- 
bunal of Penance, as in matters of salvation there 
must be no indifference. 

Application. 

1. In order to understand the gravity of mortal 
sin, we need only consider who is the Person 
offended and who the person offending. The Cre- 
ator is offended, and the offender — a creature! a 
miserable creature, entirely in the hands of Him 
whom he dares to offend ! Who would be so fool- 
ish as to draw down upon himself the anger of one 
from whom he cannot escape ? 

2. How mean is that for love of which we offend 
God! A temporal possession, a momentary pleas- 
ure, the gratification of a passion which only robs 
us of our peace, are the price for which we barter 
our greatest treasure. Our Lord may well com- 
plain of many of us, as He did of the Israelites in 
the days of old : " They violate Me for a piece of 
bread" (Ex. xiii. 19). 

But even if we were to gain the most valuable 
possessions, the greatest riches in the exchange: 
"What is a man advantaged if he gain the whole 
world, and lose himself and cast away himself?" 
(St. Luke ix. 25). 



284 Transgression of the Commandments. 

Examples. 

The rebel angels sinned only once, according 
to theologians, and what a dreadful punishment 
overtook them ! God " delivered them, drawn down 
by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, 
to be reserved unto judgment" (2 St. Peter ii. 4). 
For the sin of our first parents not only they, but 
all their descendants were punished. In the time 
of Noe all mankind with the exception of eight 
persons were destroyed (Gen. vii. 21). The in- 
habitants of Sodom and Gomorrha perished, Lot 
and his family alone excepted (Gen. xix. 24). 
The Israelites who murmured against God had to 
die in the desert, and only two men, Josue and 
Caleb, reached the Land of Promise (Num. xiv. 
30). After the taking of Jericho, all the idola- 
trous inhabitants were put to death, and only Ra- 
hab, who had hidden the spies, was spared (Jos. vi. 
23). The Jewish people were led into captivity 
for their wickedness. Holy Scripture relates how 
the kings of Juda and Israel were punished for 
their sins; for instance, Saul, David, Solomon, 
Roboam, Jeroboam, Josaphat, Joram, Ozias, Achaz, 
Manasses, Amon, Joachim, Zedechias, as we read 
in the Book of Paralipomenon. But the best way 
of gaining an idea of the enormity of mortal sin is 
by considering that neither man nor angel could 
take away sin from the human race or atone for it. 






The Different Kinds of Sin. 285 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Himself had to leave 
the throne of His glory to become man, to suffer 
and to die in order to regain the grace we had lost. 
But not only grievous sins, but also such as ap- 
pear trifling in our eyes, were severely punished: 
Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land 
because he doubted whether enough water would 
come out of the rock to quench the thirst of the 
multitude (Num. xx. 10). When the Ark was taken 
out of the house of Abinadab, Oza thought it 
was falling, for the oxen kicked and made it lean 
aside. He put forth his hand and took hold of it. 
" And the indignation of the Lord was enkindled 
against Oza, and He struck him for his rashness; 
and he died there before the Ark of God" (2 Kings 
vi. 7). David in a fit of vanity ordered a number- 
ing of all his people. But the Lord sent a pesti- 
lence over Israel, and there died of the people 
seventy thousand men (2 Kings xxiv. 15). 

The Different Kinds of Sin* 

Man estranged from God is in a sinful state, 
which produces individual sins. These vary 
according to the outward form in which this state 
reveals itself, and from the different directions in 
which it acts they are classed under three head- 
ings : Lust of the eyes or love of riches, lust of the 
flesh or love of pleasure, pride of life or love of 
honors. 



286 Transgression of the Commandments. 

Besides these we speak of : 

(i) Seven capital sins, (2) six sins against the 
Holy Ghost, (3) four sins crying to Heaven for 
vengeance, (4) r.ine ways of sharing another's sin. 

Capital Sins. 

The capital sins are so called because all other 
sins spring from them, as from so many sources. 

They proceed from the three above-named sins 
of lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life, 
wherefore these latter might be called radical sins. 
Their relation to each other is as follows: 

From the lust of the eyes spring : covetousness 
and envy; 

From the lust of the flesh : gluttony and impur- 
ity; 

From the pride of life: anger and pride; 

From all three radical sins : sloth. 

These capital sins are not necessarily mortal 
sins. We may be guilty of them even in small 
things, or we may commit them without full con- 
sent of the will. But they easily become mortal 
sins if once evil desire has taken root in our soul, 
and if we give ourselves up to them easily and 
willingly, and so fall from lighter into graver 
transgressions. 

1. Pride is an inordinate and exaggerated es- 
teem of ourself and of our own qualities. The 



The Different Kinds of Sin. 287 

proud man forgets that all the good he possesses is a 
blessing and a gift from God. He attributes all 
his success to his own talents, his own knowledge, 
his own doing. He raises himself above others, 
overestimates his good qualities and overlooks his 
own defects and faults. Vanity, vainglory, ambi- 
tion, self-praise, hypocrisy, stubbornness, quarrel- 
someness, and, not infrequently, deeds of violence 
are the deplorable consequences of pride. 

Thus we see Lucifer standing up, and, proud of 
the eminent natural gifts with which God Himself 
had endowed him, refusing obedience to his Crea- 
tor. " I will ascend into heaven. ... I will be 
like the Most High" (Is. xiv. 13). But God pre- 
cipitated him into the abyss. Pharao said to 
Moses: "Who is the Lord that I should hear His 
voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord." 
But the Lord caused him and all his army to be 
swallowed up by the waters of the sea (Ex. v. 2 ; 
xiv. 28). "Pride is the beginning of all sin" (Ec- 
clus. x. 15). 

2. Covetousness or avarice is an inordinate and 
exaggerated attachment to the goods of this world. 
The covetous tries to grasp whatever he can get 
hold of, and is niggardly towards himself and oth- 
ers; he is in constant dread of losing his posses- 
sions. He shrinks from no injustice, provided he 
can increase his riches, and he becomes an impos- 
tor and a thief. Hardness of heart, injustice, 



288 Transgression of the Commandments. 

lying, perjury, treason, and violence, are the conse- 
quences of avarice. Avarice led Judas to betray 
his Master; his end was despair and death by his 
own hand (Acts i. 18). The same sin caused 
Ananias and Saphira to lie to the Holy Ghost; 
both were punished by sudden death (Acts v.). 
"Let your manners be without covetousness, con- 
tented with such things as you have" (Heb. xiii. 5). 

3. Envy is a repining at the prosperity of our 
neighbor even so as to cause anger and sadness 
in us. The envious is grieved when things go 
well with his neighbor, and glad when he is in 
adversity. Hatred, calumny, intrigue, cruelty, 
and injustice of all kinds are the fruits of this 
ugly sin. 

It was out of envy that Cain killed Abel, and he 
was cursed by God for it (Gen. iv.). Saul was 
envious because the women of Israel sang : " Saul 
slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands" 
(1 Kings xviii. 7). He fell into melancholy, and 
God withdrew His grace from him, and in the end 
he killed himself by falling on his sword (1 Kings 
xxxi. 4). Out of envy the high-priests and Phari- 
sees persecuted Our Lord and sought His life, and 
thus drew down a curse on Jerusalem. 

4. Gluttony or intemperance is excess in food 
and drink. A glutton is a man who eats and 
drinks too much, or greedily, exceeds the lawful 
measure, eats and drinks out of time, or too costly 



The Different Kinds of Sin. 289 

and too dainty viands, or indulges in unnecessary- 
delicacies, although he has not the means to pay 
for them and has to go into debt to procure them, 
or spends money on them with which he ought to 
buy the necessaries of life. Gluttony generally 
leads to drink, and from both together proceed dis- 
sipation, impurity, anger, strife, loss of fortune, bad 
bringing up of children, ruin of health, dulness of 
mind, and early and, not infrequently, sudden death. 
" Be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury" (Eph. 
v. 18). 

The head of Holofernes was cut off while he 
was lying on his bed drunk (Judith xiii. 10). King 
Baltassar lost his kingdom while he was intoxicated 
(Dan. v. 30) . The rich man who feasted sumptuous- 
ly was thrust into hell (St. Luke xvi.) . 

5. Anger is an inordinate and unbridled dis- 
pleasure at real or imaginary wrongs done to us. 
It generally springs from wounded vanity, and from 
the idea that our efforts or our just claims are un- 
derrated by others. An angry man cannot brook 
contradiction, he seeks immediate revenge for 
injuries done to him, returning abuse for abuse, or 
having recourse to violence. Revenge, hatred, 
strife, violence, homicide, even suicide itself spring 
from this fatal passion. 

When Esau thought he had. been defrauded by 
Jacob, he wept with a loud cry and said: "The 
days will come of the mourning of my father, and 
19 



290 Transgression of the Commandments. 

I will kill my brother Jacob" (Gen. xxvii. 41). 
King Achab was so angry at the refusal of Naboth 
to give up his vineyard, that he went home, and 
casting himself on his bed, he turned away his face 
to the wall, and would eat no bread. And his 
anger was only appeased when Naboth had been 
stoned (though undeservedly) and he had obtained 
the vineyard (3 Kings xxi.). The Jews were so 
angry at the words of St. Stephen that they were 
cut to the heart and gnashed their teeth at him. 
And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their 
ears, and with one accord ran violently upon him. 
And casting him forth without the city, they stoned 
him (Acts vii.). 

6. Sloth is a voluntary disinclination for and 
neglect of the duties which the Christian religion 
in general, and our state in life in particular, im- 
pose upon us. Not only the scholar is slothful who 
learns nothing, or the sluggard who shuns work, 
but all those who from indolence do not faithfully 
fulfil the duties of their office; not only the Chris- 
tian who feels a disinclination for prayer and going 
to church at the proper times, but also all those 
who are indifferent in matters of faith. This spir- 
itual sloth is called tepidity. Distaste for work, 
neglect of duty, deceit, contempt of God, ill-humor, 
and spiritual and temporal degradation are the con- 
sequences of sloth. 

The five foolish virgins who had no oil when the 



The Differ e?it Kinds of Sin. 291 

bridegroom arrived were excluded from the mar- 
riage. The bridegroom said: "I know you not" 
(St. Matt. xxv. 12). The servant who had hidden 
his talent in the earth was cast out into the exterior 
darkness as an unprofitable, wicked, and lazy ser- 
vant (St. Matt. xxv. 30). God sent the following 
message to the Bishop of Laodicea through St. John : 
" I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor 
hot. I would thou wert cold or hot, but because 
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will 
begin to vomit thee out of My mouth" (Apoc. iii. 

15, 16). 

The Sins Against the Holy Ghost 

are so called, because they resist, set at nought, 
and act in direct opposition to the goodness and 
grace of God, which are specially attributed to the 
Holy Ghost. They are also called extreme sins, 
because they spring from an evil intention deliber- 
ately persisted in, and are, as it were, the extreme 
of human malice. 

As these sins close the soul against the ordinary 
influence of grace by the Holy Spirit, in such a 
manner that no contrition, no repentance can find 
their way into it, he who persists in this sin cannot 
hope for pardon. Therefore the Lord says : " Who- 
soever shall speak a word against the Son of 
Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he that shall 
speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be for- 



292 Transgression of the Commandments. 

given him, neither in this world nor in the world to 
come" (St. Matt. xii. 32). 

The sins against the Holy Ghost are the follow- 
ing six: 

1. Presuming on God's mercy. Of this sin all 
persons are guilty who put off their conversion to 
the time of their old age, and persuade themselves 
that they will have plenty of leisure for repentance 
when they shall be on a sickbed ; also those who say 
to themselves: I shall have to confess this sin any- 
how, what does it matter whether I commit it a few 
times more or less? All these sin against the Holy 
Ghost. 

King Manasses had led a godless life, and the 
Lord sent him into captivity by the hands of the 
king of the Assyrians. When a captive he did 
penance before God, and the Lord allowed him to 
go back to Jerusalem. His son Amon was as 
wicked as Manasses had been in his youth. He 
determined to imitate all the vices of his father, 
and like him to convert himself in his old age. 
But he deceived himself; he only reigned two 
years, and was slain by his own servants (2 Par. 
xxxiii.). 

2. Despair. Cain despaired when he had killed 
his brother Abel. He said to God: "My iniquity 
is greater than that I may deserve pardon." Re- 
morse left him no peace, and he wandered about 
the earth a vagabond and a fugitive (Gen. iv. 13). 



The Different Kinds of Sin. 293 

When Judas saw that the enemies of Our Lord 
caused Him to be condemned to death, he repented 
of his treason. He took back the thirty pieces of 
silver to the high-priests, and said : " I have sinned 
in betraying innocent blood." And when he found 
that he could not repair his fatal deed, he cast 
down the pieces of silver in the Temple and hanged 
himself with a halter (St. Matt, xxvii. 4, 5). 

3. Resisting the known Christian truth. This 
sin is chiefly committed by those who believe that 
salvation is found in the Catholic Church, but are 
kept back by human respect from entering it, or 
who, when God has given them the grace of being 
born in the Catholic Church, fall away from it for 
the sake of worldly gain. 

The Scribes knew the place and the time of the 
coming of Our Redeemer, and yet none of them 
went to Bethlehem with the Magi. And when Our 
Lord appeared in public and wrought miracles be- 
fore their eyes, they would not believe, and deliv- 
ered Him up to death. When St. Peter had healed 
the lame man by the Temple gate, they confessed 
that a miracle had been wrought, yet, nevertheless, 
they forbade the apostles to teach. Therefore St. 
Stephen reproached them in these words: "You 
resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts vii. 51). 

4. Envy of another's spiritual good. This was 
the sin of Lucifer, who, himself an eternal exile 
from the joys of heaven, saw man in Paradise in 



294 Transgression of the Commandments. 

his state of bliss and strove to make him wretched 
like himself. " By the envy of the devil, death 
came into the world" (Wisd. ii. 24). 

5. Obstinacy in sin. The people at the time of 
the deluge were guilty of this sin, when they would 
not listen to Noe, who preached penance while he 
was building the ark; Pharao likewise, who hard- 
ened his heart and would not let the Israelites de- 
part, although he saw the misery which came over 
Egypt. But this sin is also committed by all those 
persons who will not listen to the well-meant warn- 
ings of parents, masters, priests, and confessors, 
when they exhort them to desist from sin. "The 
man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that proveth 
him, shall suddenly be destroyed; and health shall 
not follow him" (Prov. xxix. 1). 

6. Final impenitence. The inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem committed this sin ; they were more wicked 
than all the other cities. Ezechiel complains of 
them in the following words : " Jerusalem hath de- 
spised my judgments, so as to be more wicked 
than the Gentiles; and my commandments more 
than the countries that are round about her" (Ezech. 
v. 6). And yet God had called them to penance, 
had sent prophets to them, and the Son of God 
had come Himself to gather His children as a hen 
gathers the chickens under her wings. But Jeru- 
salem would not be converted. She killed the 
prophets and stoned them that were sent to her 



"jfor tfois came II into tbe voo'c'to, tbat IT sbouiio give testimony to 
tbe trutb."-St, 3ohn iviii. 37. 




RIGHT, 1897, BY BENZIGER BROTHI 

"Uben Susanna cries out : © eternal (Sob, Ubou ftnowest tbat 
tbes bave borne false witness against me."— S>an. liii. 42, 43. 
EIGHTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD. 

"Thou shalt not bear false witness 
against thy neighbor." 

Reflection. — Although the tongue is but a small 
member of our body, it is, nevertheless, the most 
difficult to govern. The greatest number of sins 
are committed with the tongue ; hence St. James 
says (iii. 2.): "If any man offend not in word, the 
same is a perfect man." A sinful tongue often works 
irreparable injury. We shall have to give to God a 
rigorous account not only of every sinful word, but 
even of every idle word we speak. What a terrible 
account, then, must not be given by those who never 
scruple to tell lies, who hardly ever open their mouth 
except to backbite, belittle, and slander their neighbor! 

Practice. — Let us never tell a lie, however trivial 
it may appear, however great the good we may 
expect to derive from it, for every lie is an offence 
against the God of truth. Let us never indulge or 
allow others to indulge in our presence in backbiting 
and slandering our neighbor. Let us always speak 
of others as we would wish them to speak of us. 

Prayer. — my God, give me the grace always to 
govern my tongue, so that I may never utter a lie or 
any word that may wound charity. O Mary, help 
me always to practise charity towards my neighbor in 
thought, word, and deed. Amen. 



The Different Kinds of Sin. 295 

(St. Matt, xxiii. 37), and nailed the Saviour to the 
cross. Therefore Jerusalem met with a more dread- 
ful doom than any other nation. But all those, 
moreover, are guilty of the same sin who reject the 
grace and mercy of God, refuse to repair the in- 
jury they have done to their neighbor in his honor 
or his property, and who will not be reconciled to 
their enemies. 

To those who sin against the Holy Ghost by 
closing their hearts against contrition and penance, 
the Lord addresses these words: "According to 
thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest 
up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath and 
revelation of the just judgment of God" (Rom. 
K- 5)- 
The Sins Crying to Heaven for Vengeance. 

Certain sins are so called because their malice 
cries to Heaven and provokes the Divine Justice to 
punish them. They are four in number: 

1. Wilful murder. When Cain had killed his 
brother Abel, God declared the enormity of his sin 
by saying: " What hast thou done? The voice of 
thy brother's blood crieth to Me from the earth" 
(Gen. iv. 10). 

2. The sin of Sodom, a sin of impurity, for 
which the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha 
were destroyed by fire and brimstone in the most 
awful manner. Of Sodom the angel said : " Their 



296 Transgression of the Commandments. 

cry is grown loud before the Lord, who hath sent 
us to destroy them" (Gen. xix. 13). 

3. Oppression of the poor, of widows and or- 
phans. Of this sin the authorities are guilty 
when they do not help the poor to obtain their 
right; guardians also who badly administrate the 
property of those under their charge, or spend it 
for their own profit. How beautifully says Jesus 
Sirach: " Do not the widow's tears run down the 
cheek, and is not her cry against him that causeth 
them to fall ? For from the cheek they go up even 
to heaven" (Ecclus. xxxv. 18, 19). Holy Job could 
say of himself: " If I have denied to the poor what 
they desired, and have made the eyes of the widow 
wait: if I have eaten my morsel alone, and the 
fatherless hath not eaten thereof : if I have lifted 
up my hand against the fatherless, let my shoulder 
fall from its joint, and let my arm with its bones 
be broken" (Job xxxi. 16, 17, 21, 22). 

4. Defrauding laborers of their wages. Holy 
Scripture teaches us : " The wages of him that hath 
been hired by thee shall not abide with thee till 
morning" (Lev. xix. 13). "He that sheddeth 
blood, and he that defraudeth the laborer of his 
hire, are brothers" (Ecclus. xxxiv. 27). "Behold 
the hire of the laborers, who have reaped down your 
fields, which by fraud hath been kept back by you, 
crieth, and the cry of them hath entered into the 
ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (St. James v. 4). 



The Different Kinds of Sin. 297 

The Sins of Others. 

If we are the occasion of another's sin, or if we 
promote sin in any way, or if we destroy hatred of 
sin in others by the inculcation of bad principles, 
although we have not actually committed the sins 
of these persons, we bear the full guilt and respon- 
sibility of them. Such sins are called the sins of 
others. These sins are all the more dangerous, as 
we may not even be conscious of having committed 
them. So, for instance, a person who has led a hu- 
man soul into sin does not know the harm which 
he has done to that soul, and which sin,. neverthe- 
less, rests on his conscience with its full weight. 
Therefore David prayed : " From my secret sins 
cleanse me, O Lord : and from those of others spare 
thy servant" (Ps. xviii. 13, 14). 

There are nine ways in which we may share the 
sins of others : 

1. By counsel. 

2. By command. Those guilty of these sins are 
the seducers and scandal-givers of whom we have 
already spoken. Rebecca sinned in this way by 
directing Jacob to deceive his father Isaac and to 
pass himself off for Esau (Gen. xvii.). Parents 
also do the same who bid their children lie or 
steal, masters who make their servants work on 
Sundays, those who incite children to disobedience 
to their parents, and those who stir up servants 



298 Transgression of the Commandments. 

against their masters and subjects against their 
rulers. " He that decciveth the just in a wicked 
way shall fall in his own destruction" (Prov. 
xxviii. 10). 

3. By consent. Saul sinned by consent when 
he guarded the garments of those who were stoning 
Stephen. Of him the Acts say expressly : " Paul 
was consenting to his death" (Acts vii. 59). All 
those sin in like manner who allow themselves to 
be seduced by flatteries and caresses, or by any 
kind of gain held out to them, or who are bribed 
by presents. " Accept no person to sin thereby" 
(Ecclus.xlii. 1). 

4. By provocation. Satan was the first who was 
guilty of this sin by tempting our first parents, and 
Eve was the next when she gave of the forbidden 
fruit to Adam (Gen. iii.). Herodias provoked 
Herod to sin by asking for the head of St. John 
the Baptist (St. Matt. xiv. 8). The Jews provoked 
Pilate by crying out to him : " If thou release this 
man, thou art not Caesar's friend" (St. John xix. 12). 

Those, moreover, commit the same sin who excite 
the passions of others, for instance, by irritating 
them, and thus causing outbursts of anger, which 
again lead to other sins, or by using angry words 
(curses, etc.), or singing sinful songs, or commit- 
ting sinful actions in their presence, and thus giv- 
ing a bad example which will be imitated. Those 
also are guilty of it who paint, exhibit, show, or 



The Different Kinds of Sin. 299 

propagate indecent pictures, and those who give 
scandal by bold behavior or immodest dress. " My 
son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent not to 
them" (Prov. i. 10). 

5. By praise or flattery. The Jews applauded 
Herod for having put to death St. James the Apos- 
tle, and thereby encouraged him to further crimes, 
so that he sent St. Peter to prison, in order to 
cause him to be executed after the Pasch. Of 
such sinners St. Paul says : " They do not under- 
stand that they, who do such things, are worthy of 
death : and not only they that do them, but they 
also that consent to them that do them" (Rom. 
i. 32). 

6. By silence. The gravity of this sin can be 
understood from the words which God spoke to the 
Prophet Ezechiel. He commissioned him to in- 
vite the wicked to be converted from their ways, 
that they might not perish. Then He adds this 
warning: "If thou dost not speak to warn the 
wicked man from his way: the wicked man shall 
die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at 
thy hand" (Ezech. xxxiii. 8). 

7. By connivance. Heli is an example of this, 
for he did not punish his sons Ophni and Phinees, 
although he heard the complaints of the people 
who came to sacrifice before the Ark, that the two 
young men seized by force the flesh offered for 
sacrifice and kept it for themselves. For this sin 



300 Transgression of the Commandments. 

he was punished together with his sons. Ophni 
and Phinees perished in battle, and when their 
father heard the news, he fell from his stool and 
broke his neck (i Kings iv.). Parents also com- 
mit this sin who do not chastise their children when 
they will not listen to admonition. Further, per- 
sons in authority who are either too lenient, or who 
from human respect or partiality do not punish 
disorders as they are bound to do. " They that re- 
buke the wicked shall be praised, and a blessing 
shall come upon them" (Prov. xxiv. 25). 

8. By being partner in the sin. This sin was 
committed by Judas, who, though only showing 
the way to the soldiers, was guilty of the full 
crime as well as the members of the Council, and 
perished miserably. Moreover, all those persons 
are guilty of it who help in any sinful under- 
taking, and those no less who in any way facili- 
tate its execution. To their number belong all 
those who spy out opportunities for thieves or crim- 
inals, conceal or sell goods for them, who hide 
criminals or procure means and tools for them, and 
above all, those persons who arrange illicit meet- 
ings, allow them in their houses, etc. " He that 
is partaker with a thief, hateth his own soul" (Prov. 
xxix. 24). 

9. To defend the ill done. This is done some- 
times by people who do not even mean any great 
harm. When a man has played a nasty trick on 






The Different Kinds of Sin. 301 

another and has succeeded in it, we hear them 
say : " He has done well, I would have done the 
same." But Holy Scripture says: "He that jus- 
tifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, 
both are abominable before God" (Prov. xvii. 15). 

Application. 

As sin is the greatest of all evils, we must have 
nothing more at heart than to avoid it. We must 
therefore : 

1. Be watchful above all things, in order that 
we may not be taken unawares by sin. Our Sav- 
iour exhorts His apostles: "Watch ye, and pray 
that you enter not into temptation. The spirit in- 
deed is willing, but the flesh weak" (St. Matt. xxvi. 

41). 

2. The best way to avoid sin is to keep from 
bad occasions. " He that loveth danger shall per- 
ish in it" (Ecclus. iii. 27). 

3. Our Lord not only admonished the apostles 
to watch, but to watch and pray. And the fifth 
petition of the Our Father is: "Lead us not in- 
to temptation." Prayer is the strongest weapon 
against all the assaults of the Evil One. 

4. Excite daily in your heart a horror of sin, of 
sin which plunges into misery every one who be- 
comes its slave. " Flee from sins as from the face 
of a serpent" (Ecclus. xxi. 2). 



Christian Dirtue. 

Character of Virtue.— Different Kinds of 
Virtue. 

The more faithfully a man abstains from sin and 
represses evil in himself, the nearer he approaches 
to a state of proficiency in doing good and willing- 
ness to do it. This state is called virtue. Virtue 
is therefore not a single act, nor a series of sepa- 
rate acts, but the continued effort of avoiding evil 
and doing good. 

We distinguish infused and acquired virtue. In- 
fused virtue is the faculty of co-operating with the 
grace of God, i.e., an attraction and disposition for 
the practice of supernatural virtues. Such infused 
virtues are Faith, Hope, and Charity, which the 
Holy Ghost communicates to our soul in Baptism. 
Acquired virtue is a proficiency in doing good 
obtained by our own endeavors assisted by the 
grace of God, a proficiency which we gain through 
the often -repeated exercise of good actions. 

From the fact that we receive this infused virtue 
from God, it follows that it is our duty to strive 
after actual virtue and to acquire it. 



The Theological Virtues. 303 

" We are created in Christ Jesus in good works, 
which God hath prepared that we should walk in 
them" (Eph. ii. 10). 

The Theological Virtues* 

According to the object towards which they tend, 
virtues are divided into theological and moral vir- 
tues. The theological virtues are Faith, Hope, and 
Charity. They are called theological, because they 
have God {Theos) for their motive as well as for 
their object. 

The Christian is bound from time to time to 
elicit acts of these virtues in himself. We are not 
expressly told how often we must make acts of 
faith, hope, and charity; but it is certain that we 
ought to do so in grievous temptations, in danger 
of death, and, above all, at our last hour. All 
prayer-books contain directions on this subject, and 
every Christian who has come to the use of reason 
and is instructed in his religion is taught how to 
make these acts. We elicit an act of faith when 
we make the sign of the cross, when we take holy 
water, assist at Mass or hear sermons, say our 
prayers, etc. We make an act of charity when we 
confess our sins and are sorry for them because 
they displease God ; when we are grieved because 
God is offended by others. As often as we ask 
God's pardon and beg Him heartily for anything, 



3°4 



Christian Virtue. 



we elicit an act of hope. But it is necessary also 
from time to time to make explicit acts of the three 
theological virtues, because God desires a reasona- 
ble worship from us, and because our reason is to 
have a part in the pursuit of the goal we strive 
for. 

The theological virtues of Faith and Hope 
cease for the blessed after death. Faith changes 
into vision, and Hope becomes possession. But 
Charity abides and unites our souls most inti- 
mately with God, our fellow-saints, and the holy 
angels. " We see now through a glass in a dark 
manner: but then face to face. And now there re- 
main faith, hope, charity, these three" (i Cor. xiii. 
12, 13). "Charity never falleth away: whether 
prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall 
cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed" (Ibid. 
viii.). 

The holy souls in purgatory believe, hope, and 
love, and all the more because in a certain sense 
they have a glimpse of the Eternal Happiness be- 
yond, for heaven is certain to them. 

The devils have lost Faith, Hope, and Charity. 
It is true the Apostle says: "The devils also be- 
lieve and tremble" (St. James ii. 19). 

But their faith is not faith resting on revelation, 
but an awful certainty produced by the weight of 
Divine Justice pressing on them. 



The Moral Virtues. 305 



The Moral Virtues* 

All other virtues besides the theological virtues 
are called moral virtues, because they regulate our 
moral conduct. Although they do not have God 
for their immediate object, they aim at acquiring 
the means of attaining to God. 

The Cardinal Virtues. 

Four of the moral virtues are called principal or 
cardinal virtues, because they are the hinges {car- 
dines) on which all other virtues turn. The moral 
life of man is based on these four virtues, and man 
is only moral so far as he possesses them. 

The cardinal virtues are : 

1. Prudence, or the faculty of not only willing 
good, but also of using the right means for attain- 
ing it. It is not sufficient to have the will of do- 
ing good, we must also know how we can practise 
it, so that good may not be changed into evil. 
Prudence regulates all other virtues. Without pru- 
dence liberality changes into extravagance, benevo- 
lence connives at idleness and laziness, indulgence 
and charity encourage malice, economy becomes 
avarice. Piety without prudence often gives scan- 
dal. Therefore St. Bernard says: "Take away 
prudence, and virtue becomes vice." "To think 
upon her [wisdom] is perfect understanding: and 



306 Christian Virtue. 

he that watcheth for her, shall quickly be secure" 
(Wisd. vi. 16). 

There is also a worldly prudence, which, how- 
ever, has nothing in common with Christian pru- 
dence, for it does not aim at justice. It is the pru- 
dence of the serpent without the guileless simplicity 
of the dove. The children of this world possess it, 
but not the children of light. "The learning of 
wickedness is not wisdom ; and the device of sin- 
ners is not prudence. There is an exquisite sub- 
tilty, and the same is unjust" (Ecclus. xix. 19, 22). 

King Ezechias is an example of true prudence. 
Holy Scripture relates of him : " He trusted in the 
Lord the God of Israel : so that after him there was 
none like him among all the kings of Juda, nor any 
of them that were before him. Wherefore the Lord 
also was with him, and in all things to which he 
went forth, he behaved himself wisely" (4 Kings 
xviii. 5, 7). 

2. Justice in a restricted sense. While justice 
in its wider sense is the compendium of all virtues, 
the cardinal virtue of justice is that virtue which 
inclines us to give to every man his due, whether 
his claims be based on strict right or on fairness 
only. " Render to Ca?sar the things that are Cae- 
sar's; and to God the things that are God's" ^St. 
Matt. xxii. 21). 

Thus the just man gives to God due adoration, 
reverence, obedience, love, and gratitude; to the 



The Moral Virtues. 307 

secular authorities he pays honor, obedience, and the 
taxes they exact; to his parents he renders honor, 
obedience, gratitude, and practical assistance; to 
his fellow-men he shows civility, kindness, love, 
and mercy, and he always pays what he owes. If 
he does not know how much he owes, he rather 
pays too much than too little. 

The just priest gives to his flock a good exam- 
ple, assiduous instruction, and dispenses the sacra- 
ments with diligence. 

Just parents give to their children not only food, 
clothing, bodily care, but also a religious education. 

Just rulers do not burden their subjects with un- 
bearable taxes and do not punish without need. 

In short, every just man faithfully fulfils the du- 
ties of his state. 

3. Temperance is the continued effort of con- 
quering sensual appetites and desires, so that they 
may not lead us into sin. Temperance is chiefly 
directed towards the mastery of our appetite for 
food and drink and of the pleasures of the flesh, 
for these are the instincts which are most apt to 
lead us into sin. "The kingdom of God is not 
meat and drink; but justice, and peace, and joy in 
the Holy Ghost" (Rom. xiv. 17). 

But temperance is not only practised by modera- 
tion in food and drink, but also by the restraint of 
all our passions, especially of anger, avarice, gar- 
rulity, etc. The Psalmist says very wisely: "If 



3°8 Christian Virtue. 

sins shall have no dominion over me, then shall I 
be without spot : and I shall be cleansed from the 
greatest sin. And the words of my mouth shall be 
such as may please: and the meditation of my 
heart always in thy sight" (Ps. xviii. 14, 15). 

4. Fortitude, which is daunted by neither hard- 
ship nor persecution in the pursuit of good. The 
frailty of our human nature makes us shrink from 
anything which hurts us or causes us annoyance. 
But if we consider well that the practice of good 
prepares for us an immense reward in heaven, 
while omission of it leads us to hell, we shall be 
encouraged to bear willingly all hardships and 
persecutions, as all the disciples of Christ have done 
before us. "All that will live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. iii. 12). 

We find the most eminent examples of fortitude 
in the holy martyrs, who confessed the holy name 
of Jesus on the rack and on the wheel, and testi- 
fied to their faith even under the axe of the execu- 
tioner. 

But we can evince fortitude without being mar- 
tyrs. The poor man who struggles with want all 
the days of his life, the sick who suffer patiently 
on their bed of pain, the servant who bears the ca- 
prices of his masters with meekness and without a 
murmur— these and many other unbloody martyrs 
excel in fortitude. Their strength is in God; they 
say with David and with the Prophet Isaias : " The 






The Moral Virtues. 309 

Lord is my strength and my praise : and He is be- 
come my salvation" (Ps. cxvii. 14; Is. xii. 2). 

The Principal Virtues. 

To the seven capital sins as many virtues are 
opposed; they are: 

1. Humility, which is conscious of its own noth- 
ingness before God and acknowledges that all the 
good it possesses does not proceed from its own 
strength, but from God alone. 

Our Lord Himself is the example of humility; 
He said : " Learn of Me, because I am meek and 
humble of heart" (St. Matt. xi. 29). Mary, the 
ever-blessed Mother of God, is not proud of being 
chosen for that great dignity, but praises the Lord, 
who has regarded her lowliness, and calls herself 
the handmaid of the Lord (St. Luke i. 38, 48). 
Humility shows itself chiefly in this, that hum- 
ble persons are diffident of themselves; that they 
think themselves unworthy of the benefits of God ; 
that they do not ask for honor or praise ; that they 
willingly perform lowly services, etc. 

It is not opposed to humility that a man respect 
himself as a Christian and a member of the Church, 
as long as he recognizes that he owes all he has to 
the grace of God and not to his own virtue. Thus 
St. Paul says of himself: "I am the least of the 
apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle. 



310 Christian Virtue. 

But by the grace of God, I am what I am" (i Cor. 
xv. 9, 10). 

2. Liberality, which willingly shares all temporal 
goods with others, relieves the distress of the needy, 
and opens its hand in order to shed blessings, as 
Our Saviour teaches us to do: " Give to him that 
asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of 
thee turn not away" (St. Matt. v. 42). 

3. Chastity, of which we have spoken, and of 
which we shall treat again in the chapter on the 
Evangelical Counsels. 

4. Brotherly Love, which desires all good for an- 
other as much as for itself, and grieves over anoth- 
er's pain as over its own. " Rejoice with them that 
rejoice, weep with them that weep" (Rom. xii. 15). 

5. Temperance in eating and drinking is one 
particular aspect of the cardinal virtue of temper- 
ance. A temperate man not only keeps his appetite 
for food and drink in proper bounds, but he in no 
way indulges in the pleasures of the palate and does 
not pamper himself with delicate viands. And al- 
though the temperate man does not restrict his food 
to what is absolutely necessary, like St. John the 
Baptist, he abstains from all extravagance and lux- 
ury in eating and drinking as incompatible with 
the spirit of Christ. 

Among the Israelites who were captive at Baby- 
lon there were four young men, Daniel, Ananias, 
Misael, and Azarias. They were well favored, and 



The Moral Virtues. 311 

skilful in all wisdom, acute in knowledge, and in- 
structed in science. They were chosen by King 
Nabuchodonosor to serve in his palace, and were 
to be instructed in learning and in the tongue of 
the Chaldeans. " And the king appointed them a 
daily provision of his own meat, and of the wine 
of which he drank himself, that being nourished 
three years, afterwards they might stand before the 
king. . . . But Daniel purposed in his heart that 
he would not be denied with the king's table, nor 
with the wine which he drank : and he requested 
the master of the eunuchs that he might not be de- 
filed. And God gave to Daniel grace and mercy 
in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs. And 
the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel: I fear 
my lord the king, who hath appointed you meat 
and drink: and if he should see your faces leaner 
than those of the other youths, your equals, you 
shall endanger my head to the king. And Daniel 
said to Malasar, whom the prince of the eunuchs 
had appointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and 
Azarias : Try, I beseech thee, thy servants for ten 
days, and let pulse be given us to eat, and water to 
drink : and look upon our faces, and the faces of 
the children that eat of the king's meat: and as 
thou shalt see, deal with thy servants. And when 
he had heard these words, he tried them for ten 
days. And after ten days their faces appeared 
fairer and fatter than all the children that ate of 



3 1 2 Christia?i Virtue. 

the king's meat. So Malasar took their portions, 
and the wine that they should drink, and gave 
them pulse. And to these children God gave 
knowledge, and understanding in every book, and 
wisdom : but to Daniel the understanding also of 
all visions and dreams" (Dan. i. 3-17). "For in 
many meats there will be sickness, and greediness 
will turn to choler" (Ecclus. xxxvii. t>3)> 

6. Meekness, which represses all revenge, wrath, 
and anger. King David has given us an example 
of this virtue. When he was obliged to flee from 
his son Absalom, he met Semei, the son of Gora, 
who began to curse David and cast stones at him 
and called him a son of Belial. Then Abisai, the 
son of Sarvia, said to the king : " Why should this 
dead dog curse my lord the king? I will go, and 
cut off his head. And the king said [to Abisai] : 
Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath 
bid him curse David" (2 Kings xvi. 9, 10). And 
Semei was not punished, although he was in David's 
power. 

7. Diligence, which is anxious to promote God's 
honor, and to do its duty conscientiously. St. Paul 
exhorts us to practise this virtue when he says: 
" Be zealous for that which is good in a good thing 
always" (Gal. iv. 18). 



Cbristian perfection. 

The Duty of Striving After Perfection* 

The practice of what is good and lawful, joined 
to the avoidance of evil, is called Christian justice. 
As this is the only way of saving our soul, we may 
also say : Striving after justice is true wisdom. " A 
wise heart, and which hath understanding, will ab- 
stain from sins, and in the works of justice shall 
have success" (Ecclus. iii. 32). 

1. Higher in dignity than Christian justice is 
Christian perfection, which is the complete surren- 
der of ourselves to God, the perfect union of the 
human with the divine will. Like justice, it 
springs from the love of God, but its rule is not 
limited to what is commanded or prohibited by 
God, but it extends over the whole moral life of 
man. Perfection is therefore a higher degree of 
moral and divine virtue. Perfection goes beyond 
duty, and subjects to the will of God those actions 
also which are left to the free will of man. 

2. Although justice is sufficient for gaining sal- 
vation, it is the will of God that we strive after 
perfection. The Lord said to Abraham: "Walk 



3*4 



Christian Perfection. 



before Me, and be perfect" (Gen. xvii. i). And 
Our Saviour says expressly : " Be you therefore 
perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect" 
(St. Matt. v. 48). 

In any case, aspiring to perfection is a duty for 
those who have bound themselves by vow to it, as 
religious do. 

3. Our Lord Jesus Christ has not only shown us 
the way which leads to perfection, but also the 
manner of walking in it. " If any man will come 
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
cross, and follow Me" (St. Matt. xvi. 24). 

Denying one's self means to overcome the desires 
of corrupt nature, viz., pride, avarice, lust. Carry- 
ing one's cross means to love and seek what fallen 
nature fears and shrinks from — humiliations, pri- 
vations, and sufferings; and to do this for the 
love of Jesus Christ crucified. Thus thought and 
acted the Apostle Paul, who could say of himself: 
" I count all these things to be but loss, for the 
excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord : for 
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and 
count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ" 
(Phil. iii. 8). 



The Evangelical Counsels. 

Jesus Christ Himself has shown us the way of 
attaining perfection by giving us the Evangelical 
Counsels. They are called Counsels because we 



The Duty of Striving After Perfection. 315 

are not bound by any commandment to observe 
them, and Evangelical because their observance has 
not become a pious practice in latter days, but be- 
cause Our Lord Himself has recommended them, 
as the Gospel testifies. 

Of these Evangelical Counsels there are three: 
Voluntary Poverty, Perpetual Chastity, Entire Obe- 
dience. 

To observe these counsels is the most powerful 
means of obtaining Christian perfection, for they 
repress the three forms of concupiscence which are 
the obstacles to all virtue: avarice by poverty, lust 
by chastity, pride by obedience. But their obser- 
vance is moreover the best practice of perfection, 
because by it we sacrifice ourselves and all we have 
to God and to His service : our possessions by pov- 
erty, our body by chastity, our will by obedience. 

Voluntary Poverty. 

Voluntary poverty consists in renouncing our 
property, or at least the right of disposing of it ac- 
cording to our own pleasure, in such a manner as 
to receive as an alms out of it what we need for 
our sustenance. 

Our Lord said : " If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell 
what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me" 
(St. Matt. xix. 21). 



316 Christian Perfection, 

The holy patriarch St. Anthony carried this out 
to the letter. He possessed a large fortune, and 
had an only sister to provide for. One day he went 
to church to assist at a service. Just as he entered, 
the preacher pronounced the above-quoted words of 
Our Lord. Struck by their meaning, he went home 
and divided his whole fortune into two parts. 
With one-half he provided for his sister; the other 
he distributed among the poor. He then left his 
native place and went into the solitude of the des- 
ert, where he lived on roots and herbs. He at- 
tained to such a degree of sanctity that from far 
and near disciples flocked to him and embraced his 
mode of life. He is considered the patriarch of 
hermits. 

Perpetual Chastity. 

Perpetual chastity is not only the entire repres- 
sion of all impure desires, but it is the voluntary 
and life-long renunciation of marriage, in order to 
belong to God alone in purity of body and soul. 

Our blessed Redeemer has not commanded vir- 
ginity, but He has counselled it. When once He 
was teaching His disciples that not only a man 
who puts away his wife commits adultery, but he 
also who marries a woman thus put away by her 
husband, they said: " If the case of a man with his 
wife be so, it is not expedient to marry." Our 
Lord replied: "All men take not this word, but 



The Duty of Striving After Perfection. 317 

they to whom it is given. There are eunuchs, who 
have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of 
heaven. He that can take, let him take it" (St. 
Matt. xix. 12). 

The Church has ever esteemed the state of vir- 
ginity higher than the married state, although Our 
Lord has raised marriage to the dignity of a Sacra- 
ment. St. Paul gave preference to virginity; in 
one of his Epistles we read : " The unmarried wo- 
man and the virgin thinketh on the things of the 
Lord : that she may be holy both in body and spirit. 
But she that is married, thinketh on the things of 
the world, how she may please her husband" (1 
Cor. vii. 34). 

The Council of Trent therefore declares : " If any 
one say that the married state is to be preferred 
before the state of virginity, and that it is not bet- 
ter and more perfect to live in virginity than to 
contract marriage, let him be anathema" (Sess. 
XXIV., Can. x.). 

Even in the Old Testament we find eminent men 
living in celibacy, for instance, Elias and Eliseus; 
and in the New, St. John the Baptist deserves men- 
tion before all others. Our Saviour chose to be 
born of a virgin Mother, and the disciple whom 
He loved with a special love was St. John the 
Virgin. 

St. Thekla, the holy protomartyr, was already 
married to a rich young man of high rank when St. 



318 Christian Perfection. 

Paul came to her native town of Iconium. When 
she was converted she renounced this alliance, and 
remained steadfast in her resolution, wherefore she 
was denounced as a Christian and martyred. We 
venerate a great number of holy virgins, who lived 
in the earliest ages of the Church, as SS. Petro- 
nilla, Anastasia, Cecilia, Catharine, Agnes, Doro- 
thy, Agatha, Crescentia, Barbara, Apollonia, etc. 
The virgins were the best-beloved children of the 
Church, who frequently employed them in the in- 
struction of female catechumens, in services con- 
nected with the administration of the sacraments 
to women, in the care of the house of God, or in 
nursing the sick. 

Voluntary Obedience. 

Voluntary obedience is the entire renunciation 
of one's own will and the complete subjection to 
the will of another, in order to find rest and peace 
in God through the breaking of one's own self-love 
and self-will by obedience. 

Jesus Christ Himself has given us the example 
of consummate obedience. He came down from 
heaven, not to do His own will, but the will of His 
Father who had sent Him (St. John vi. 38). And 
He was obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross (Phil. ii. 8). Therefore He has become the 
model of obedience for us, and by obedience we 
have to earn eternal salvation. 



The Duty of Striving After Perfection. 319 

"And whereas indeed He was the Son of God, 
He learned obedience by the things which He 
suffered: and being consummated, He became to 
all that obey Him the cause of eternal salvation" 
(Heb. v. 8, 9). 

As the Church is the most perfect union with 
Christ, who has cleansed it by the laver of water in 
the word of life, that she should be holy and with- 
out blemish (Eph. v. 27), there have been at all 
times perfect souls in the Christian community. 
A state has even formed itself which undertakes the 
observance of the Evangelical Counsels as a duty 
to which it is bound by solemn vows. This state 
is the religious state. The Church looks upon it 
as her most beautiful ornament, and encourages all 
to enter it, if they feel a call for this mode of life, 
or to strive after the grace of this great vocation. 

The Religious Orders in the Church. 

There exist various Orders in the Church, but the 
essence of all lies in the three irrevocable vows of 
voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity, and entire 
obedience. They only differ in the pious object 
they propose to themselves, and in the manner of 
life which their members lead. Generally speak- 
ing, they are divided into two kinds : (1) Active Or- 
ders, which exercise their charity outside the clois- 
ter in the care of souls, in the education of youth, 



320 Christian Perfection. 

in nursing the sick, and other practical works of 
mercy; and (2) Contemplative Orders, which de- 
vote themselves chiefly to contemplation, and by 
prayer and mortification strive after communion 
with God. 

The principal Active Orders are : The Benedic- 
tines and their branches : the Cistercians, Premon- 
stratensians, Camaldolites, and Trinitarians; the 
Franciscans with their branches: the Capuchins 
and Observantines; the Dominicans; the Jesuits; 
the Redemptorists ; the Lazarites; the Oratorians; 
the Congregation of the Holy Cross; the Brothers 
of Charity; the Christian Brothers; and the Brothers 
of Mary. Among the Orders of women are dis- 
tinguished the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of 
Mercy, the Nuns of the Good Shepherd, the Ursu- 
lines, the Notre Dames, the Sisters of St. Joseph, 
and the Sisters of Providence, and the different 
kinds of educational Orders. Nearly all religious 
Rules are also followed by women, who add all 
sorts of external duties in order to make them- 
selves useful. Among the Contemplative Orders 
the most eminent are: the Carmelites, the Augus- 
tinians, the Servites, the Carthusians, the Trap- 
pists, and the Nuns of the Perpetual Adoration, 
and the Visitation Nuns. Besides these the Church 
possesses many Orders and Congregations, both of 
men and women, which by their self-abnegation 
and their practice of Christian charity have be- 



Perfection in the World. 321 

come a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and 
to men (1 Cor. iv. 9). 

It is evident that the more the members of a 
Congregation which is engaged in works of charity 
are separated from intercourse with the world, and 
the less they are exposed to the danger of being 
diverted from their vocation, the more salutary 
their influence will be and the more their work will 
prosper — so evident that only ignorance or preju- 
dice can dispute the fact. But even the Contem- 
plative Orders, with their retired, poor, and humble 
life of prayer and mortification, are a great blessing 
to mankind. It is quite certain that people who 
stay at home and pray are more useful than those 
who walk abroad and sin and instigate mischief 
and disorders of all kinds, as we see thousands do. 
Besides, it is a man's private affair how he wishes 
to save his soul, with whom he chooses to live, how 
he occupies himself, and what dress he wears. In 
our time, which is so prolific of maniacs, murderers, 
thieves, impostors, self-murderers, and rakes, these 
religious houses ought to be regarded as the most 
venerable homesteads of piety, and their inmates 
to be honored as the mainstay of human society. 

Perfection in the "World* 

Not only religious persons, but also those of the 
faithful who do not live in religious congregations, 
ought to seek after perfection as far as they are 



322 Christian Perfection. 

able. The Apostle says: "And he that is just, let 
him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him 
be sanctified still" (Apoc. xxii. n). 

Priests especially are under a certain obligation 
to practise the Evangelical Counsels, because they 
have voluntarily bound themselves to perpetual 
chastity. They also practise poverty in so far as 
the profession which they have chosen does not 
allow of certain avocations, by which they could 
procure worldly gain. Lastly, a priest subjects 
himself by obedience to the commandments and 
ordinances of the Church and to his bishop. Thus 
the priesthood forms as it were a connecting link 
between secular and religious persons. 

The Eight Beatitudes. 

It is beyond doubt that even persons in the world 
can strive after perfection and attain it, for Our 
Lord has expressly told us so. He has explained in 
the Sermon on the Mount who is blessed, t.e., per- 
fect in this life. His instruction is expressed in 
the eight beatitudes : 

i. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is 
the kingdom of heaven." 

These are the poor who, although possessing 
riches, do not attach their heart to them, but make 
right use of them. They possess their wealth as if 
they possessed it not (i Cor. vii. 30). Those also 



Perfection in the World. 323 

are poor in spirit who do not seek riches, but are 
content with the needful, like St. Paul, who could 
say of himself : " I have not coveted any man's sil- 
ver, gold, or apparel : for such things as were 
needful for me and them that are with me, these 
hands have furnished" (I have earned by the work 
of my hands) (Acts xx. ^^ f 34). 

And lastly, the humble are poor in spirit. A 
holy doctor says : " Poor in spirit is the humble of 
heart, who has no high opinion of himself; rich in 
spirit, on the contrary, is the proud man, who is 
great in his own conceit." 

2. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess 
the land." 

The meek are those who do not allow anger to 
get the mastery over them, and do not render evil 
for evil, but rather do good unto their enemies. 
St. Augustine calls those meek " who overcome evil 
by good." Not only shall heaven be theirs after 
death, but even in this life they shall possess the 
land, i.e., they shall gain the love and favor of God 
and man, and above all shall enjoy rest and peace 
in their hearts. 

The most beautiful example of meekness is Our 
Lord Himself. Once He entered one of the cities 
of the Samaritans with His disciples. The inhabi- 
tants did not receive Him, because He was a Jew, 
and His disciples were so indignant at it that they 
said : " Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to 



324 Christian Perfection. 

come down from heaven and consume them? And 
turning, He rebuked them, saying: You know not 
of what spirit you are. The Son of Man came not 
to destroy souls, but to save" (St. Luke ix. 53-56). 
Our Saviour also said of Himself: "Learn of Me, 
because I am meek and humble of heart: and you 
shall find rest for your souls" (St. Matt. xi. 29). 

3. " Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall 
be comforted." 

They are those who feel a real inward sorrow for 
their own sins and the sins of others, and do not 
take part in the sinful amusements of this world. 
We find an example of a mourning soul in St. Mary 
Magdalen, the penitent, who bathed the feet of Our 
Saviour with her tears (St. Luke vii. 38). These 
mourners shall be comforted, i.e., they shall obtain 
pardon, full reconciliation with God, and the eter- 
nal joys of heaven. " By a short-lived laugh we 
buy eternal tears," says St. Peter Damian; "and 
by a moment of weeping we earn eternal joys." 

4. " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after 
justice: for they shall have their fill." 

The hungry and thirsty are those who have a 
holy zeal for promoting the honor of God to the 
best of their power, who oppose evil in this world, 
who protect their neighbor against injustice, and 
have a desire to hear the word of God and to prac- 
tise it. "The just man," says St. Bernard, "hun- 
gers and thirsts unceasingly after justice, so that 



Perfection in the World. 325 

the longer he lives the more he desires to grow 
just, for he endeavors at all times to rise from good 
to better." 

The hungry and thirsty shall have their fill, i.e. 
they shall be filled with bliss on the day when the 
glory of God shall be manifest, as the Psalmist 
says : " I shall be satisfied when Thy glory shall 
appear" (Ps. xvi. 15). 

5. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall ob- 
tain mercy." 

Merciful are all those who feel a hearty compas- 
sion for the misery of their brethren, and are firmly 
resolved to help them for the love of God. St. 
John Chrysostom says that by this virtue we be- 
come like unto God, of whom we are told that He 
is merciful. 

A model of this virtue is found in Tabitha, 
whom St. Peter met at Joppe. She was full of 
good works and almsdeeds which she did. She 
died and her body was laid out in an upper cham- 
ber. As St. Peter was at Lydda near to Joppe at 
the time, the disciples sent for him. And when he 
had come, they led him to the upper chamber: and 
all the widows stood about him weeping, and show- 
ing him the coats and garments which Dorcas (Ta- 
bitha) had made. And Peter called her back to life 
by his word (Acts ix. 36-41). 

6. " Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall 
see God." 



326 Christian Perfection. 

Those are clean of heart who not only refrain 
from doing evil, but who subdue all evil inclina- 
tions and desires in themselves. They are capable 
even here below of understanding divine myste- 
ries, and in the future life they shall see God in a 
special light of glory. 

Examples of such pure souls are the hundred and 
forty-four thousand who sing before the throne of 
God a new canticle which nobody else can sing. 
St. John says of them : " These are they who were 
not defiled with women : for they are virgins. 
They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. 
In their mouth there was found no lie, for they are 
without spot before the throne of God" (Apoc. xiv. 

3-5)- 

7. " Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall 
be called the children of God." 

The peace-makers are those who know nothing 
of quarrels, strife, and law-suits, from whom peace 
proceeds, and who spread it around them wherever 
they go. Theirs shall be the peace of God which 
surpasseth all understanding (Phil. iv. 7). 

We find an example of a peaceable man in the 
Patriarch Abraham, who, in order to avoid disputes 
between his own shepherds and those of Lot, left 
to his nephew the choice of the pasture-land. Like 
Abraham every Christian ought to say : " Let there 
be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and 
thee: for we are brethren" (Gen. xiii. 8). 



Perfection in the World. 327 

8. " Blessed are they that suffer persecution 
for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

These are the chosen ones who for their faith or 
for other virtues patiently suffer shame and perse- 
cution, as, for instance, the holy apostles and mar- 
tyrs have done. 

When the apostles preached the doctrine of Jesus 
Christ crucified, they were first thrown into prison, 
then scourged, and forbidden to speak in the name 
of Jesus. And they went from the presence of the 
council rejoicing, because they were accounted 
worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus 
(Acts v. 41). 

All those suffer persecution for justice' sake who 
are innocently oppressed and bear it with resigna- 
tion to the will of God: for instance, servants who 
refuse to take part in the sins of their fellow- 
servants or to connive at them. Moreover, those 
who are mocked and laughed at for their Catholic 
principles, or are dismissed from their place be- 
cause they will not give up the practice of their 
religion ; or those persons who see that they are not 
promoted because of their religious convictions 
and remain true to them, although their families 
may have to suffer want in consequence. To these 
and to all others who suffer similar hardships, the 
following words are addressed : " Blessed are ye 
when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and 



328 Christian Perfection. 

speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My 
sake ; be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very 
great in heaven" (St. Matt. v. n, 12). 

The Way of Attaining Perfection. 

In order to obtain the grace that the Spirit of 
God may rouse us to aspire to perfection, and 
strengthen us bravely to fight the good fight against 
the world and its temptations, and to persevere in 
this good will and in this strength which He Him- 
self has given us, it is necessary above all things 
that we should pray with our whole heart, that we 
should not leave off from prayer, that we should be 
watchful and often receive the sacraments, those 
greatest means of grace, which the Church offers 
us. For many have begun in the spirit and have 
ended in the flesh. Even King Solomon, to whom 
God had given such wonderful understanding that 
he was wiser than all men (3 Kings iv. 31), fell 
into idolatry in his old age, because he allowed 
himself to be seduced by heathen women (3 Kings 
xi. 7, 8). Therefore let every one remember that 
not a good beginning only, but perseverance to 
the end, works salvation. " Be thou faithful unto 
death: and I will give thee the crown of life" 
(Apoc. ii. 10). 



Perfection in the World. 329 



Application. 

1. We are highly blessed, because the Lord has 
promised not only eternal life to us, but has shown 
us so clearly how to gain it. We need therefore 
not walk in the dark and anxiously ask ourselves : 
Shall we ever attain our goal ? for we see the whole 
Christian life represented in grand pictures in the 
life of Jesus Christ and of His saints, and in the 
beatitudes which Our Lord pronounced. We have 
only to compare our life with these pictures, and 
we shall know whether we are animated by the 
spirit of the world or by the spirit of Jesus Christ. 

2. As the teaching we have received is so clear, 
we have only to ask ourselves in all our. doubts: 
What would the apostles and the disciples of Christ 
have done if they had been in our position ? Then 
we shall understand that many things which appear 
lawful at first sight war against the spirit of Christ, 
and not only are not conducive to salvation, but 
lead in an entirely opposite direction. But there 
is a test which will never deceive us : the following 
of Christ reflected in the lives of the saints is a 
glass into which we ought to look very often, for in 
it we can read truth. 

3. Although we cannot attain perfect happiness 
in this life, even the striving after eternal happiness 
in the next is rewarded with numerous spiritual 



330 Christian Perfection. 

blessings here below; for those who seek the king- 
dom of God shake themselves free from all those 
fatal passions which disturb the peace of the human 
heart, and avoid many toils and troubles which oth- 
ers have to suffer in their chase after the pleasures 
of this world. It has not been said in vain : " God- 
liness is profitable to all things, having promise of 
the life that now is, and of that which is to come" 
(i Tim. iv. 8). 



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Thought from Dominican Saints. 32010, o 50 

Thought from St. Francis Assisi and his Saints. 32010, o 50 
Thought from St. Ignatius. 32010, o 50 

Thought from St. Teresa. 321110, o 50 

Thought from St. Vincent de Paul. 32010, o 50 

Thoughts and Counsels for the Consideration of 
Catholic Young Men. 12010, net, 1 25 

Three Girls and Especially One. By M. A. Taggart. 

16010, o 50 

True Politeness. Addressed to Religious. By Abb6 

Fraocis Demare. 16010, net, o 60 

True Spouse of Christ. By St. Alphonsus Liguori. 2 vols., 

12010, net, 2.50 ; 1 vol., 12010, 1 50 

Twelve Virtues, The, of a Good Teacher. For Mothers, 

Iostructors, etc. Pottier. 32100, net, o 30 

Two Retreats for Sisters. i2mo, net, 1 00 



Two-Edced Sword, The. (Lenten Sermons.) Paper, 

net, o 25 

Vade Mecum Sacerdotum. Continens Preces ante et post 
Missam, Modum Providendi Infirmos, nee non multas 
Benedictionum Formulas. 4Smo, cloth, net, 0.25 ; morocco, 
flexible, net, o 50 

Visit to Europe and the Holy Land. Fairbanks, nmo, 
illustrated, 1 50 

Visits to the Most Hoi.y Sacrament, Liguori. 32010, o 50 

VOCATIONS Explained : Matrimony, Virginity, the Religious 
State, and the Priesthood. By a'Vincentiah Father. i6mo, 
flexible, 10 cents ; per 100, 5 00 

Ward, Rev. Thomas F. Fifty-two Instructions on the 
Principal Truths. i2mo, net, o 75 

Thirty-two Instructions for the Month of May. 

i2mo, " net, o 75 

Month of May at Mary's Altar. i2mo, net, o 75 

Short Instructions for the Sundays" and Holydays. 

i2mo, net, 1 25 

Way of the Cross. Illustrated. Paper, 5 cents ; per 100, 3 00 
Way of Interior Peace. Ue Lehen. i2tno, net, 1 25 

What Catholics Have Done for Science. Brennan. 

i2mo, 1 00 

Woman of Fortune, A. A novel. By Christian Reid. i 2 mo, 

cloth, 1 25 

Women of Catholicity. Sadlier. 12010, 1 00 

Words of Jesus Christ During His Passion, explained in 

their Literal and Moral Sense. Schouppe, S.J. Flexible 

cloth, o 25 

Words of Wisdom. A Concordance of the Sapiential Books. 

i2mo, net, 1 25 

Wuest, Rev. Joseph, C.SS.R. Devotio Quadraginta 

HORARUM. 321110, net, o 25 

Zeal in the Work of the Ministry. Dubois. 8vo, net, 1 50 
Young Girl's Book of Piety. i6mo, 1 00 



An American Industry. A full description of the Silver- 
smith's Art and Ecclesiastical Metalwork as carried on in 
Benziger Brothers' Factory of Church Goods, De Kalb 
Avenue and Rockwell Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. Small 
quarto, 48 pp., with 75 illustrations, printed in two colors. 
Mailed gratis on application. 

This interesting book gives a full description of the various 
arts employed in the manufacture of Church goods, from the 
designing and modelling, through the different branches of 
casting, spinning, chasing, buffing, gilding, and burnishing. 
The numerous beautiful half-tone illustrations show the 
machinery and tools used, as well as rich specimens of the 
work turned out. 

crc 16 



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